Crimson Dream
by PhoenixBlade
Summary: *This story has been discontinued. Many apologies, but if I do continue this story someday, it will not be under this fandom, but will be its own original story. Once again, I am very sorry.
1. Prolouge

It's been forever since I've written a story and posted it up. I kind of gave up on my other stories. Well, maybe I'll continue them someday, but I probably will never put them up. I've got a load of other stories that I haven't even finished or even put up, but it's all right. Well, my sisters complain to me that if I don't at least write down the plot of the story or even the summary, I'll lose those stories cause I've got them all stuck in my head and some of the stories are gone by now. Anyways, this is getting too long so just read the story.  
  
The Inuyasha guys and gals are property of Rumiko Takahashi and everything else that belongs to her. This story is mine! mine! mine!   
  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
Long ago, the country of Shatura was once a peaceful land. Weapons were barely forged and rarely used. It was the golden age of Shatura for the two godly princes, the founders of Shatura, were watching down upon the kingdom. Shatura's people went about their lives without worry or fear of attack from any neighboring kingdom...   
  
Then, Neising, Shatura's neighboring kingdom, attacked without warning. Villages were burned down and people were raped from their pride and honor. Few people rose up to fight Neising, those who knew how to wield a weapon or use magic, but many had not learned how to fight since they were born. Shatura was utterly defenseless and Neising took the kingdom's capital.   
  
Yet, two brothers, risen from the farmhand work of peasants, gathered an army and fought against Neising. The people believed that they were the two godly princes and had returned to save their kingdom. Not expecting the defense, Neising was defeated and the capital returned to Shatura. Though many rejoiced in the defeat of Neising. One problem rose up...  
  
When Shatura was founded by the two founding princes, the dark arts, the manipulation of darkness to your own will, were forbidden to be used or taught. They had used the dark arts to use in the war that was to lead to the creation of Shatura, but the damage was catastrophic. The dark arts were to be never used again and were sealed away in the writings of a sacred scroll and hidden away for all eternity. The people were never to learn of it for as long as they lived and for future generations... Little did they know that one of the brothers, who arose from a peasant into a great leader, would become the one to break the law and become the master of the dark arts.  
  
The dark arts was taught in silence to some fighters to help end the war and it did help end the war, but not the insecurity of the people. The law was broken and the penalty was death, but many did not wish for the death of one of their saviors or of their family and friends yet wanted the existence of the dark arts gone from their minds. Sadly, the brother of light banished his only blood kin and his followers of darkness from their beloved kingdom.  
  
The land of Shatura prospered throughout the years and many great descendants brought great fruits of success to Shatura... Although Shatura was prosperous, many outsiders wanted to claim it, but were always hindered by some unknown force aside from Shatura's great warriors of Light. Many of Shatura's people had no clue who their hidden allies were and were grateful to whoever they might be...   
  
They had no idea that Shatura's lost children of the Dark, still loved her. Although banished and shamed, her lost children managed to fend for themselves and their survival and battle skills grew as the years rolled on. Only when Shatura was in trouble, would her Dark children return home and defend it then leave without her knowing. Although Shatura had forgotten her children, they never forgot her and would always defend her and her people...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
So? Okay, it's been a LONG time since I've written a story so it is probably very bad right now. Just review. 


	2. Chapter One and Two

Hmmm... When I wrote this story, it was LONG so I had to condense it and ended up putting it into chapters then I ended up cutting it up pretty much a lot from the original, but I didn't really get far into writing this.  
  
Anyways, Inuyasha is once again Rumiko Takahashi's property and Viz and whoever has claims and whatever to it.  
  
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Chapter One  
  
I looked at my outfit and scowled.  
  
'...Pink...'  
  
I was dressed up in this...this atrocious rag of a dress all for one thing: the protection of our Lords Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, the heirs to the Shatura throne.   
  
Today was the last day of the Spring Festival, the beginning of a new year with a fresh new start on everything. Shatura had one week to enjoy the beginning of spring in all its glory and on the last final day, the royal family would venture through the capital in the Spring Parade during the night. Then they would retire to the castle for songs and dance late into the night until they could no longer party.  
  
  
  
The Spring Festival was indeed the time to enjoy a new life, but it was also when Shatura was also weakest, they weren't prepared, but we were... That's why... Why I had to dress in such a ridiculous outfit! My uncle, the leader of our group, made Sango and I and a couple of others, the performers in the parade for the Dance of the Firefly Fairies. We would be dancing with hot sticks and swords, blowing fire, throw fireballs, yeah, that kind of thing, but pink?! It just didn't fit!  
  
  
  
"Are you still grumbling about the color of the outfit?" Sango groaned.  
  
  
  
Of course I was miffed about it! The color didn't match!  
  
  
  
"Yes!" I snapped, "a great actress must also have a great disguise that actually BLENDS in with her character that she's playing!"  
  
  
  
She rolled her eyes and me," Whatever."  
  
  
  
I sighed, "Well, I guess it'll have to do then. Red would have been better though..."  
  
"And that explains the red hair?" she pointed at my hair.  
  
  
  
My hair was red, well, dyed red, but would wash away after coming in contact with water. This was just one of the things I had to go through to convince people that I was actually the person I was playing. I was good at acting, very good. So good that my victims never saw their death coming. Oh yeah, by the way, my name is Higurashi Kagome, also known Crimson Dream, the Assassin of a Thousand Faces. I don't actually have a thousand faces, I just play many different roles to get close enough to my target to kill them, or protect them, depending on the job I'm on at the moment.  
  
  
  
I am an assassin if you haven't figured it out by now. If you've read the prologue, you know about the dark children of Shatura right? Well, they are my people and I am one of them. Although Shatura still turns away from us, we love Shatura and we would even sacrifice our lives to defend it. My people long ago came up with a name for our people the day we left Shatura... We became the Clan of the Lost Souls. You ask why? Well, Shatura was much like the body of my people and once they left, they were like lost, wandering souls that had no body to return to. Understand?  
  
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"Although Lord InuTaisho will not be in the parade tonight, his sons are. Their lives are in danger because we've received information from our sources that they are being targeted for assassination from some country, most likely from Barthim, but it may be wrong. Anyway, whoever it is, we'll find out in due time, but as of the moment, the two young lords are not to be harmed at all tonight."  
  
Most of us were assembled at the meeting place for uncle's review over the plan for tonight. The others were on watch and preparing.  
  
  
  
"It is most likely that they will use most of their people to distract the guard, but there is only one or a couple who are actually the ones who will try to kill the two masters. Keiko, your group must be by the southern walls and keep a watch for anyone who might get past the gates there. Shiro, your group is by the western gates and Hideo, your group at the eastern gates. Yoichi, your group must keep a tight eye on the castle in case anyone suspicious should enter it through any other opening that isn't the front door. Got that?" uncle told them.  
  
  
  
The four masked leaders nodded their heads in unison with eyes of determination.  
  
  
  
Uncle then nodded to them and turned to us.  
  
  
  
"Kagome, you, Sango and the others must perform the Dance of the Firefly Fairies in the parade. Use all that we've taught you and don't screw it up or someone will get suspicious, mainly the Lords Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha because it is you all that are walking in front of the two lords and are the closest to them. If any danger is to arrive to them, you must be protect their lives with yours, is that understood?"  
  
  
  
We all nodded.  
  
  
  
"Good. Everyone must be in his or her designated position the moment the parade starts. Those of you stalking the streets and roofs, go in disguise or darkness, it doesn't matter to me how you go, but only as long as you don't bring attention to yourself or forget the task that's at hand. Now, is there anything that needs to be repeated?"  
  
  
  
A chorus of no's went about the room.  
  
  
  
"Good. Now we must go. Good-bye and may Shatura watch over us all tonight," my uncle ended.  
  
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Not very good huh? I wanted to set the info to you readers first so you'd get the idea of who's who and what's what. This is what classic authors do, set up about 100 pages worth of info then they start the dialogue and action. Well, read and review! (^_^)  
  
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GRRRRRR!!!! My computer got infected with some virus! Don't worry! I deleted it. What happened was that the virus infected my email from my friend who's friend got it from another and so on. Well, it went into the address book and sent itself to everyone on my contact list even though my messenger! I deleted it though cause someone sent my friends an email that told them about the virus and how to find it and get rid of it. Now I'm worried about my friends and their computers. I hope they don't crash. Oh well, c'est la vie!  
  
Inuyasha is a stroke of genius work that the great Rumiko Takahashi has created and those other great people such as Viz who help make Inuyasha available to us. All hail them! *bows*  
  
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Chapter Two  
  
  
  
Uncle kept me behind a few minutes after the pep talk.  
  
  
  
"Kagome, be careful okay?" he warned me.  
  
  
  
I smiled at him, "Sure uncle, promise."  
  
  
  
He sighed, "If only your mother were here. Then you wouldn't be here, you'd be with her and out of danger."  
  
  
  
"Uncle," I said as I hugged him, "I'll be all right. I'll look after myself tonight so don't worry."  
  
  
  
He sighed again. "Okay, but this old man will still worry about his sister's reckless daughter."  
  
  
  
I laughed and left my uncle's arms, "Worry all you want uncle, but it won't turn your hair white enough to be that old."  
  
  
  
"All right, all right, now get going or you'll be late."  
  
  
  
"Yeah. Okay, later old man, take care of yourself!" I said putting on my dancer mask and ran off with him grumbling on about his age.  
  
  
  
He was my mother's oldest and only brother, the only kin she had left. I was my uncle's only kin left. He had a wife, but she died giving birth to his son, Souta. Souta died a year ago while tagging along on a mission with my uncle that almost failed, but due to Souta's death, the mission was completed, but my uncle was enraged and deeply saddened. Ever since then, he kept me close by and treated me like a daughter.  
  
  
  
"Kagome!" Sango screamed at me.  
  
  
  
"What!?"  
  
She chuckled at me. "It's time to go Mrs. Superstar. Your fans are waiting."  
  
  
  
I recovered and smirked, "Bring it on."  
  
  
  
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"Make way! Make way for Lord Sesshoumaru and Lord Inuyasha!"  
  
  
  
Loud screams and cheers filled the open night air. To top that all off were the blasting fireworks that exploded loudly with bright colors and imagination.  
  
  
  
I twirled the two flaming swords in my hands. They were hot. I made sure not to lose my grip on them or touch the fire. Sango was beside me following every move I made. Several others of our group played with their fiery swords or sticks around so much that the people cheered them on. The fire breathers amazed the little children with their dragon-like puffs of fire.  
  
  
  
I threw the swords in the air and Sango passed-well, actually threw her swords at me and I caught them and started to juggle her swords and mine together when they came down. The people stared and cheered in awe at the show before them. As I was working on walking and juggling fiery swords, I snuck a peek at the two young lords behind us.   
  
They were on horses looking at the people and waving. Well, actually, the one called Inuyasha was waving. The one called Sesshoumaru was expressionless and staring straight ahead whereas Inuyasha laughed and winked at the people. They were good-looking I guess, even though I couldn't see much, but I could tell due to the girls fanning themselves and screaming "OHMYGOSHHESSOCUTE!!!!"  
  
  
  
I was unprepared for what happened next. I was so busy watching Sesshoumaru, walking and tossing flaming swords that I didn't realize that he caught me staring at him and he looked at me. I held my breath and felt my heart skip a few beats before I stumbled. Two of the swords in the air were coming down and I wasn't quick and prepared enough to catch the first one. It came hurtling down like a shooting star. Just then, Sango caught the sword as it was a foot or two above me and started to twirl it on her flaming stick. I recovered and caught the second and sent the swords flying in the air again. I looked over at Sango who was playing the sword like a ball on her paddle stick, but only with it twirling around.  
  
  
  
"Thank you," I mouthed to her.  
  
  
  
She winked at me and returned to the task at hand, as did I.  
  
  
  
'Wow... He...he looked at me...He's...not that bad looking...'  
  
  
  
Suddenly, something black and quick that flashed through the sky momentarily blocking out the fireworks like a blur caught my eye and I turned to Sango. She looked at me and nodded, she knew it too. It was time.  
  
  
  
Just then, there was a scream, not a happy scream, but an agonizing, dying scream that was soon followed by more screams of terror and horror. We stopped our dance as the people started to run off in different directions and blocked out view of everything.  
  
  
  
"Dancers! Fly! Fly and protect the princes!" I shouted as I retreated back towards the two confused princes.  
  
  
  
Suddenly a dozen black cloaked men appeared around us as we made a circle around the two princes.  
  
  
  
"Sesshoumaru! What's going on?!" cried Inuyasha.  
  
  
  
He was silent, but quite pissed off.  
  
  
  
"Assassins of Bartrim! We know you have come for Shatura's princes, but we will not allow you to spill any of their blood on her earth tonight!" shouted I, the daring one.  
  
  
  
I heard one of them chuckle, but couldn't tell who it came from due to all the screaming, crying and running bodies around us.  
  
  
  
"You dare get in our way? Fools! Then your blood shall be spilled first on this night!" shouted one of the cloaked assassins.  
  
  
  
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Wahhhhh!!! It didn't end up how I wanted it to!!!! Oh well. I'll try to make the next some chapters better!... But I don't have time right now. It's mid-tri and I have a C- in my chemistry class. I need to do better so I might not update in a while, but I will try to continue writing and try to write some more action and dialogue! 


	3. Chapter Three

Yeah!!!! I get a four day weekend! No school for four days!!! YAY!!!!! Oh wait, damn, I forgot that I had four projects due Wednesday. Darnit!!! Okay, I'd better go get started. I'll write when I'm able or bored (or whenever I feel like skipping homework). I have to tell you though, I think it's a little violent in this chapter.   
  
Oh yeah, many thanks to the reviewers for reviewing! I didn't expect there to be anyone, except maybe a couple, to read this story. To those of you wondering if this is a Sess/Kag story... Well, you'll just have to read don't you? I'm not about to spill the beans just yet! Oh yeah, thanks for the advice Fallon (is that how the name's spelled?). I know the paragraphs are hard to read, but the thing is, I submitted this as text so maybe I should submit it as html or something else. Hmmm... Anyways, many thanks again!  
  
Well, my cousin gave me the weirdest look when I was writing this. He looked over my shoulder, read a couple of lines and said this, "Damn Kiki (my nickname), so violent. You need to get out more." Okay, whatever that meant. (He's like, eleven by the way.) Anyway, enjoy! (^_^)  
  
Inuyasha is property of Takahashi-sama and all others... yak yak yak. You guys know who I'm talking about so let's just leave it like that. Oh yeah, they don't belong to me at all, only the story and anything else that the big dudes don't own from this story.  
  
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Chapter Three  
  
Do you sometimes get that churning feeling in your stomach that tells you that something bad was going to happen, but when you try to ignore it, it keeps annoying you until that moment actually does happen? Well, I got it and even though I tried to shrug it off, that feeling came back like an itch that you couldn't scratch.  
  
  
  
The cloaked men started to raise their hands all except one whom rose one hand but pointed a finger at me with the other. Their hands started to glow and a low noise, like chanting, started to overtake the screaming and yelling of the running people. They were deaf to me now, except for these men, my people and the two princes behind me.  
  
  
  
"Foolish girl, how much did they pay you to have you end up paying with your pathetic life?" the speaker asked me mockingly.  
  
  
  
Unfortunately for him, he was dead before I could even answer. An arrow had pierced through his dark cloak and he fell like a rock falling off a cliff. He crashed onto the ground with a final choke for air and a splash of his own blood. Who said that I would be the first to have my own blood spilled? The idiot was too busy casting magic and mocking me to notice that I had grabbed one of the princes' bow and arrow that he had (luckily) and shot after he had said his last word.  
  
  
  
"Anyone else got a question for me before me and my pals kill you?" I asked with a smirk.  
  
  
  
The others didn't even move much less even give a sign of surprise. What was up with these guys?  
  
  
  
"No matter, he was only one, but we are many," one of them finally spoke up and his pals and he disappeared, so did the dead spellcaster.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, we were swarmed with other assassins of...well, they were good! I coukld tell that they had a lot of training. It was only then that I noticed that the citizens of the town were gone. The bow and arrows were no good so I tossed them back at the prince (I think it was Sesshoumaru?...) and grabbed a fallen sword that was still burning from my act that I had dropped. I prayed and hoped to the mother queen of Shatura that I would kill as many as possible so that the princes could escape.  
  
  
  
Escape!? They were still behind me!  
  
  
  
"My lords! Flee! We will take care of them...here..." I started to drift off.  
  
  
  
They jumped off their horses, unsheathed their own swords and started fighting the assassins.  
  
  
  
'Damn... They're good...'  
  
  
  
"Idiots! Can't you fight!? Let's see how well you do at follow the leader!" I heard Sango taunt them.   
  
  
  
She and the other dancers ran down the streets leading about half of them away from us, but there were still a lot left. It was only me and several others protecting the two princes from the assassins.  
  
  
  
Just then, an assassin jumped in front of me and brought his sword down on me... Well, my dummy anyway. To see me disappear and have his sword stab into hay surprised him; it gave me an advantage. I slid behind him and stabbed him. He fell before he could counter. I pulled my sword out, the flames had gone out, but the sword was still useful.   
  
  
  
"Nobody would dare to attack the Assassin of a Thousand Faces like that!" I laughed and turned to another oncoming opponent.  
  
  
  
Now that, was a bad idea to do. Most of the assassins had gone to the two princes to kill them, but once they heard me, they ran towards me instead, well, most of them anyway. You see, I have a pretty big name as the Assassin of a Thousand Faces. To even use that name or say it to another assassin is a pretty big disgrace because I could be lying.   
  
  
  
Assassins have a big honor thing going on. The best assassin known by many is like a god worshipped by his followers. The only way to make sure that I was that assassin is to fight me and see that I survive. If they find out that I am that assassin and if they do manage to kill me, they would get an even bigger name for defeating someone that good. I usually don't blurt out my nickname like that, but it was worth it to at least make sure the princes had less to deal with and less of a chance of getting killed.  
  
  
  
One lunged towards me from the front while another came from the back. I brought the front one's sword down to the ground and flipped back as the one in the back drove his sword into the front one. He died instantly, as did the second one when I landed and ran my sword through him. Another jumped at me from above; I barely got away by rolling backwards as he came down with his sword stabbing into the earth.   
  
  
  
How were the others doing? The thought came to my head as the assassin from the sky fell to the earth with a lifeless thud.  
  
  
  
I turned my head to the side just as a sword barely slid passed my ear. It nicked me, but the owner of the sword had originally tended to cut my throat. Too bad for him, my sword found its way through his flesh and he was dead in a matter of seconds. At least I was merciful, they were dead before they could suffer, or only suffered a little before they were dead.  
  
  
  
"Sesshoumaru!" I heard the Prince Inuyasha call out, "this is just like when we were practicing swords this morning!"  
  
  
  
"You idiot," I finally heard Sesshoumaru say after slashing one of his opponents, "this is for real."  
  
  
  
"My lords!" I ran towards them, swinging my swords every way where someone came to attack me, "You must escape!"  
  
  
  
Sesshoumaru cut off a head of the last assassin fighting him by the time I reached them. The number of assassins had drastically dropped. They dared not to touch the princes (because of me) or me, except for some daring ones whom wished they didn't dare once I was through with them. The other dancers were finishing the rest off, but when they started to run off, I shouted at them not to follow, but to ding Sango and the others.  
  
  
  
"My lords! Your lives are in danger! We have no time left and there might be others who are coming for you! I must take you safety!"  
  
  
  
Sesshoumaru gave me a look of annoyance, "Who... are you?"  
  
  
  
Inuyasha grabbed my left arm and a wave of pain hit, "Hey! You're bleeding!"  
  
  
  
Sure enough, I was. I didn't even notice it until he grabbed me.  
  
  
  
"It-it doesn't matter. Your lives are more important. We must go!" I urged them on, but that strange churning feeling in my stomach and the pain kept annoying me, constantly demanding my attention.  
  
  
  
"Go where?" Sesshoumaru asked like he was bored and didn't give a rat's tail about what I said.  
  
  
  
"To safety!" I answered, almost wanting to add, "you jackass!"  
  
  
  
Inuyasha suddenly grabbed his brother's kimono and glared at him angrily.  
  
  
  
"Now listen here FLUFFY!" Inuyasha said, almost shouting.  
  
  
  
I noticed Sesshoumaru's bored face changed a bit with annoyance and slight anger. Then I noticed the fluffy thing that I thought was part of his armor, move off his shoulder and start to move around. I stared at it, surprised that he had a tail and almost wanting to touch it...  
  
  
  
'Wait a minute... TAIL!!?? He has a TAIL!? He must be a... a demon?'  
  
"This girl is risking her life for us so we might as well thank her and do what she asks!" said Inuyasha.  
  
  
  
Sesshoumaru grabbed Inuyasha's hands and pushed his brother back. Inuyasha fell back, but got up as Sesshoumaru dusted his kimono off as if his brother had placed some unwanted things there with his hands.  
  
  
  
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and his voice was cold, "I, Sesshoumaru, did not ask her to risk her pathetic life for mine."  
  
  
  
Inuyasha placed his hands on his hips, "Fine... Fluffy!"  
  
  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped dusting himself and glared at Inuyasha with such hate.  
  
  
  
I stared at the two brothers. They weren't going to cooperate with the other, that was for sure, but I didn't know how to get Sesshoumaru's cooperation either.  
  
  
  
"Hey, so where are we going then?" Inuyasha asked me.  
  
  
  
It startled me, I thought he was going to argue with his brother for the rest of the evening, "It's in the forest, not far from here. A small shrine..."  
  
  
  
The shrine was our meeting place, it was stupid of me to take them there because anyone could follow us, but I had to... The castle wouldn't be safe, nor would the city. I had to take them somewhere where no one would expect them to be except my people.  
  
  
  
Yuriko, one of the dancers returned and reported to me that Sango and the others were dealing with some demons that were attracted to the dead bodies at the moment. I told her of where I would take the two princes and told her to report it to my grandfather. She nodded and said she and the others with her would clear off the path we would take so that no one would follow our trail.   
  
  
  
She ran off with the others, but just as I turned back to the two princes, an assassin jumped out from the shadows to kill one of the two young lords.   
  
  
  
"...If any danger is to arrive to them, you must be protect their lives with yours, is that understood?..." spoke the words of uncle.  
  
  
  
Without thinking, I got in the way, but forgot that I had a sword. Only then did I realize that that strange feeling I had been having was now gone, this was that bad thing that was coming.  
  
  
  
'"If any danger is to arrive to them, you must be protect their lives with yours, is that understood?..." Right... my worthless life for theirs... They must survive if I must die...'  
  
  
  
A sword plunged into my chest. Have you ever seen a pool with a calm, unmoving surface until a drop of water falls into it. Ripples are created once the still surface has been interrupted. That was how it was for me. I was unprepared for the attack and now, the drop, which was the sword, had plunged in and now ripples, or rather, waves of immense pain washed over me and all I could do grind my teeth together to try to hold it back.  
  
  
  
The pain increased as the sword dug further into my flesh. I screamed when my attacker immediately pulled out their sword and readied to strike me again, this time to kill, but he was stopped. He was cut in half and blood poured out everywhere, but maybe it was just me because my vision started to become obscure.   
  
  
  
I stepped back a couple of feet grasping onto my wound as the blood came gushing out and I fell to my knees. I looked at the pool of blood flowing from the attacker who was now dead, to my savior. I held my breath from surprise and finally fell forward whispering my his name, "Sesshoumaru...."  
  
  
  
The world became black as I waited to meet the earth. It never came...  
  
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La-De-Da! This chapter seems longer. Well, I pissed off my dad and bro when I was writing this so please be nice when reviewing! This story will only live as long as there are reviews. Again, many thanks to the reviewers! 


	4. Chapter Four and Five

Okay, I haven't updated in a while because of my projects for school. They are a pain in the ass to do, but my mom and dad are really pushing it that I'd better get good grades cause my older two siblings were smart but seem to be failing now for some strange reason. Anyways, I've sorta figured out how to work the layout of the story and all. Many thanks to those of you who've given me advice. (^_^)  
  
Well, anyway, this is going to be a little different. I'm going to be writing 1st person and 3rd person but don't get this wrong okay, Kagome does not know what's happening when I write 3rd person nor does anyone else know about it either, unless they do know about it. I'll probably not write too much on 3rd person, or whatever, but if I do, I'll tell you who's in it and what. Okay, let's get on with the story shall we? (^_~)  
  
This story belongs to me, but Inuyasha and all other characters of it belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and others who lay claims to it. Damn... the things you gotta do so you don't get sued...  
  
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Chapter Four  
  
Some guy...  
  
  
  
A dark figure sat upon his throne, staring at nothing in particular, but almost as if he was in a trance. His servant gave him a side-glance and wondered what interested his master so that he would look at nothing. Fearful of what his master might do should he drop out of that trance, he decided to leave instead of taking on his master's vengeful wrath. He darted for the open door, which immediately closed the moment he was within two steps of it.  
  
"And just where do you think you're going?" a seductive, cool voice rang out.  
  
The servant froze, "M-master! I-"  
  
Before he could turn around or even answer, he was consumed in fire. He couldn't even let out a scream, as he became ash in a matter of seconds. He was dead and gone.  
  
The dark figure, formerly the master of the servant-now-a-heap-of-dust, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. It didn't turn out the way he planned... but things would work out. They always did, besides, that was just part of the plan. Wait till they saw the rest...  
  
Knock! Knock!  
  
His eyes slid open and a short silence followed.  
  
"Yes?..."  
  
"Sire! There is a visitor here to see you!" the voice behind the door answered.  
  
"And whom, may I ask, is that person?" he asked as if he didn't care.  
  
"My lord, it is your cousin who has just come from his domain in the mountain," the voice answered with a shiver of fear.  
  
Is it now?.. What does he want this time?...  
  
"Does he travel with anyone?"  
  
There was a short silence, "No my lord. He has traveled here... alone... And on foot might I add."  
  
'Alone? On foot? How odd...'  
  
"Do you want me to send him away, my lord?" the voice behind the door asked.  
  
"No," sighed the dark lord, "send him in. His abruptness... interests me."  
  
"If you say so my lord."  
  
He heard the footsteps fade away into nothingness before he closed his eyes and thought back to the moment... Ah yes... He felt the girl's pain and it was pure ecstasy...  
  
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Kagome...  
  
By the time I awoke, I was in a small dark room with a little light from a candle beside me. I realized suddenly where I was and tried to stand, but a rush of nausea and pain struck me down to my laying position. I tried to remember the events of the evening. How did I get wounded like this?.. How long has it been?...  
  
It was quiet... at least for a little while anyway.  
  
"Stupid! I told you not to sling her over your shoulder like that!" a voice shouted from the outside.  
  
"...Your point?" a cool, collective voice asked as if he was just asked the dumbest question in the world.  
  
"She's wounded!"  
  
By this time, I figured out who they were. The Princes Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.   
  
'Hey, I guess they found the way here after all...'  
  
"Humans are weak...Just like your mother and you..." the calm, now angered voice, which probably belonged to Sesshoumaru, spoke.  
  
"Shut up!" an enraged Inuyasha snapped.  
  
"It's only fitting for another human to care for another weaker human, but in the end, humans are weak, even hanyou such as you, dear brother," I heard Sesshoumaru say with a scoff.  
  
Next thing I knew, I heard trees falling, leaves rustling and fighting noises. Were they fighting? Gee, brotherly love...  
  
I could barely get up.  
  
'I've got to stop them before the enemy, whoever they are, finds us...'  
  
As soon as I moved just the tiniest bit, pain washed over me like a waterfall falling down the edge. I tried to speak up, but a sound between a whimper and a scratch came out instead, which would barely catch their attention.   
  
The fighting stopped. Actually, it did...  
  
"Did you hear that?" Sesshoumaru asked alertly.  
  
"I can't if you have me pinned to a tree and have me choking for breath!" Inuyasha sputtered.  
  
"No... Something... Inuyasha, where are the horses?"  
  
I heard something heavy drop and someone gasping deeply for air, "Like I'd know!?"  
  
"You mean, you let them get away!?"  
  
I could tell that Sesshoumaru was getting pissed off.  
  
"Why? What's wrong with that?" coughed Inuyasha.  
  
"There was something strange about those horses. Father says that they were given to us a couple of days before, but..."  
  
"But what?"  
  
'Horses?... Wait... Uncle said that the real assassin was... If those assassins weren't the real assassins and only the distracters then... Can demons take the form of...?'  
  
"Very smart your highnesses..." a cackling, but melodious voice called out.  
  
"But unfortunately for you, it's too late!" a darker, thunderous voice boomed.  
  
Here we were, deep in the forest and with no one else around but us...  
  
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Harharhar! Okay, not much happening, but yes... KAGOME IS ALIVE!!! REJOICE! Thar be angels! (*o*) Okay, anyway, review please? (^_^)  
  
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Man, some night ago, I stayed up till 3:30 (AM!!!!!) doing my nonfiction book report for my AmX class and guess what? There was no book report assignment!!!!!! GAH!!!! I stayed up for nothing!!!!!  
  
Anyways, sorries for the long delay. I know that some of you want to hit me with a sledgehammer so I really apologize!!!!! I had soooooooo much homework to do and a homework that wasn't even assigned!!!! I will make it up to you readers!!!! (Somehow....)  
  
Oh btw, some of you asked about that one secret place in the woods. Well, I forgot to mention that they're there at that place. Yes, it's secret, but Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru know of the place. I will explain about it in the story later. Thanks for pointing this out to me! I will add it in for the previous chapter at some point...  
  
Okay, Inuyasha and all others belong to Takahashi-san and Viz and... and... the other guys involved in it.  
  
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Chapter Five  
  
Have you ever jammed your thumb in the door? Or prick your fingers on the thorns of a rosebush? Or even had a splinter that was such a bothersome to take out, but hurt so much you wanted to just dig it out with a knife? Well, you're in luck cause that was just small fry compared to the pain I was feeling, when I tried to get up, just made me want to pull myself to shreds. Ew. Nasty picture, forget about that. Anyway, I had to get up because I could hear my princes in trouble and pain or not, I had to go deal with the demons.  
  
Demons are not what I'm best at. They're actually more in Sango's category...  
  
I slowly got up against the wall behind me and quickly dragged myself while grasping onto my wound towards the open door.  
  
Ching!  
  
"Really Prince Sesshoumaru, is that all that you, the son of a great, but foolish demon lord, can do? Hah! The humans have softened you too much!" I heard a voice cackle.  
  
Then I heard a yell as I made it out the door and looked into the dark night. It was dark, but the torches around the shrine were the only things illuminating the place. I fiddled around the small pouch that was tied to the sash that came with the outfit I wore. I took out several pieces of paaj-ua-zoo (pronounced pahng ouwa zhong- it's Hmong but see if you can pronounce it! (~_^)) that Sango's people had given to me before the parade. I stuffed it into my mouth, chewed it as quick as I could and swallowed, hoping my body would go numb before I got into combat.  
  
With one deep breath, I ran around the corner and slammed right into something that felt like feathers-wait, correction, that felt like fur. The furry thing went down just as I had wanted it to do as I tumbled down too. I couldn't even feel the furry thing that was now beneath me, just that he was white.  
  
'Good,' I thought to myself, 'the paaj-ua-zoo's working!'  
  
Something quickly whipped past my hair, barely missing me, but the something (which was one of the other demons) was very unlucky. I grabbed my sword around my waist and turned, slashing something that squirted blood on me like a waterfall. The thing came down lifeless on top of me, blanketing me with its own blood. I shoved it off.  
  
"Woman! Get off me!" I heard the furry thing beneath me demand before I could get my thoughts organized.  
  
Clink!   
  
My own sword stopped a sword above me.  
  
"I'm...sorry...my lord," I struggled to say to the one below me, "but I'm...in sorta...pickle here!"  
  
The remaining demon was pushing down with all his might as I was pushing up with all of my might. I couldn't even feel my own blood flowing out of my open wound.  
  
"Wench! You will suffer immeasurable pain the moment I am through with you!" the demon above me snarled.  
  
I could feel the pressure pushing down on me and I was losing, that much I knew, but I didn't know if my body was tired or in pain. That was the miracle of paaj-ua-zoo. It's a plant that's able to nullify your body of any pain or feeling and gives you more power, but if too much is taken, you might as well get your coffin ready cause it'll kill you. It's only temporary, about a few hours before its effects are gone, then you're gonna wish that you never took it. You'll get this horrible hangover like you drunk too much the night before and you'll feel like shit, only it'll hurt, a lot, like somebody just stabbed you everywhere at once. I only use it for the most desperate times, like right now because of the pain I had.  
  
"I'm sorry...but I'm not...too sure...that you could hurt me...that much!" I grunted.  
  
With all that I had (I think), I pushed up and the demon went sprawling backwards to his back. I stood up and the person beneath me got up and growled. I thought it was me he was angry at, well, he was still angry at me, but he directed his anger at the demon who was struggling to get up.  
  
Sesshoumaru lunged forward and grabbed the demon's throat with an angry snarl.  
  
"Fool! Who are you to interfere with me!?" he demanded.  
  
I thought he meant me so I answered, "WELL, I'm sorry I hurt your pride, YOUR HIGHNESS, but I did it only to save your life as well as his highness Lord Inuyasha who appears missing at the moment."  
  
'Yeah, where was he?'  
  
He gave me an angry and annoyed glare that said you-loser-I-wasn't-talking-to-you. I shrugged and he returned his anger to the demon he held in his claws.  
  
'Looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the king size bed this morning...'  
  
"Why are you attacking us?" Sesshoumaru's now mellowed out, but still angry voice demanded.  
  
"Hehehe... That's for us to know and for you to die, Lord Sesshoumaru!" the demon choked, but mocked him evilly.  
  
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and he snapped the poor demon's neck. He was dead in less than a second. The dead body fell back to the ground as Sesshoumaru cleaned his bloodied hand as if it was some sort of holy relic.  
  
"Lord Sesshoumaru, where is your brother?" I asked him.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned his back to me and went to retrieve his sword, which was stuck in a tree.   
  
'Did he just cold-shoulder me?'  
  
"Nobles..." I scoffed quietly.  
  
'Here's one brother, where's the other?...'  
  
"Sesshoumaru! You jackass! Get me down! You had no right to hang me up here like wet laundry!" I heard Inuyasha shout.  
  
'Well, at least I know where the other one is at now...'  
  
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Okay, I was kind of in a hurry to finish this chapter so it's bad. Is it long? It looks kinda long to me. Oh yeah, I had mentioned this thing up there that Kagome had eaten called paaj-ua-zoo. It translates into "flower that makes you better" in Hmong. Okay, not very good translation (but it's close enough), but it was made up by me and exists in this world I created so it might come up a lot. Anyways, R & R. 


	5. Chapter Six and Seven

Geez, it takes me forever just to update. Sorries for taking so long!!!!   
  
This chappie takes place about one week after she saves Sesshie and Inu's butts. Oh yeah, btw, maybe I didn't make this clear or explain it well, when she was saving the bro's butts, her face was covered so they didn't know who she was ok? Good. Now on to the story!  
  
Disclaimer: You know the drill. Not mine...  
  
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Chapter Six  
  
I was in a dark forest coming from a recent job. Well, it was night, way too late for someone younger than me to stay up. With one final stroke of my blood stained hanky, my sword was as good as new. I tucked the bloody handkerchief in my pouch to be cleaned later. The dead leaves and twigs snapped beneath my foot as I walked across the forest floor.  
  
'Damn, these late night excursions are wearing me out... I wonder if uncle would allow me to get a night off?...'  
  
Then a small noise made me turn around, drawing my sword out in attack position.  
  
"Who's there!?" I demanded.  
  
'Great. I don't have time to deal with the boogieman. I got another assassination to do in the morning and I have got to get my bath and beauty sleep somewhere! I mean it, two hours of sleep everyday is bound to make you go crazy and I don't want to smell like horse dung before I go to work....'  
  
A figure emerged form the dark slowly, and then I dropped from attack position with a sigh.  
  
"Kagome," the person said.  
  
"Geez Sango! You could have told me! I'm tired and I want to go home!" I almost screamed at her.  
  
"Well sorry for interrupting your time to yourself Mrs. Grouch, but your uncle told me to get you just in case you ran into some kind of trouble cause you are about... oh-ten minutes late," she pointed out as a matter of fact.  
  
"Gee thanks for being a friend."  
  
"No prob! That's what friends are for!"  
  
We walked for a bit in silence. It was cold. Cold like, well, cold. I never noticed how cold it was until recently.  
  
"Hey Kag," Sango finally spoke up.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How come it took you so long to kill the guy?"  
  
I sighed, "It's pretty strange cause I didn't think it take that long too because as you've heard, the guy's got a thing for women, he loves 'em right? Well, I thought, piece of cake! But the guy just takes a while..."  
  
You see, what happened was that I took the assignment to assassinate this one big top-notch diplomat guy who's really admired and loved by these two kingdoms right? Well, the two kingdoms hate each other and have always fought the other just because they hate each other. That's stupid; it's like two five-year olds fighting over a piece of candy.   
  
Anyways, he's supposed to go to this one place for a secret meeting with the two leaders of the two kingdoms and supposedly, he's supposed to have a solution for the two, but he only knows what it is. Well, tomorrow night, he was supposed to go over there, but tonight, he was spending the night at an inn. Well, I just so happened to be a kitchen wench (one of my oh-so-famous disguises that fools even the highest politician), who lost her previous job and begged the innkeeper for a job.  
  
Of course, the innkeeper knew that the diplomat guy would be coming for whatever the reason, he didn't care cause business was business. So he hired me on the spot. I was his best waitress in a matter of minutes and the inn keeper immediately liked me and put me to the task of "entertaining" the diplomat cause the guy just loved girls (especially virgins, but that's another story). So when he arrived with quite a lot, but not so suspicious lot of soldiers, I immediately flung myself at him and he "liked" me right away. I flirted and played with him all evening.   
  
My plan was to get him so drunk that he couldn't lift a finger against me and take him to his room for "private entertainment." Which did happen, but it took a while. His soldiers laughed at his antics to take me upstairs by himself, but I took him up and told the inn keeper and the soldiers not to expect us until the morning, which they laughed at and continued drinking, understanding the meaning behind my words, but not truly knowing what my true intentions were or who I was.  
  
I brought him to his room and told him to turn around so I could "get ready." He was drunk, but not too drunk and there was a bit of struggling before I could make my move. He pinned me to the bed ready to take me, but at that instant, I was afraid. Strange, a great assassin who is feared by many and has no fear in killing, fears that a man with no fighting skill is about to take her. I was afraid and began to struggle, then realization hit me and I grabbed my well-hidden knife.   
  
  
  
Before he could even comprehend what had happened, I stabbed him through, but I missed the damn bastard's heart. We made too much noise and I thanked the gods that the soldiers didn't come up because they thought we were having "fun." It took awhile, but I accomplished my task. With a quick prayer to the dead, I made my exit...  
  
"So you fumbled, so what? You got the task done," said Sango.  
  
"No, that's not it. I would rather have my targets killed in one hit or possible two. I want to take as few strikes as possible so my targets wouldn't suffer in their last moments, but I messed up. It took me so many tries and I know that he was in immense pain for his last minutes. He was resilient and very resistant. He was very strong despite the fact that he couldn't fight. Sango, I think... this treaty, the solution he was going to present to the two leaders, I think it meant a lot to him..."  
  
"Are you having second thoughts?" Sango asked me with concern in her voice.  
  
Second thoughts?.. I was confused. How much longer did we have to be assassins? For the rest of our lives? I had been one since I was a child. Now that I was older, I was tired of seeing so many die by my hands... Would Souta have been one too if he hadn't died?...  
  
"Maybe..." I whispered.  
  
Sango sighed, "Well, they're going to have a long war on their hands and we helped cause it."  
  
Suddenly, I felt something around me and I whipped my head to the side and my hand suddenly went to my sword. Sure enough, a figure stood alone in the darkness beneath the tall trees.  
  
"Who are you!? Show yourself!" Sango yelled with her big boomerang in her hand.  
  
"Miss, I am in desperate need of your help..." the voice called out, not to Sango, but to me.  
  
  
  
I gasped, that voice!..  
  
From the darkness, came a white haired, yellow-eyed hanyou prince whose name was Inuyasha.  
  
  
  
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Okay, this is a long chappie. I know, I know. It's boring! But you must sacrifice a few chappies to get some info across...right? Well, don't worry, I PROMISE to make the next chappies better!!!  
  
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Agh. My stories are getting boring. I should hurry up and get to the good parts huh.  
  
Okies, Inu-chan and his pals belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz. This story will forever and ever and ever belong to me!  
  
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Chapter Seven  
  
"Lord Inuyasha! What an honor it is to see one such as yourself among Shatura's Lost Children!" announced my uncle who bowed so low that I thought he would fall.  
  
The thought of him falling made me giggle. Sango looked at me questionably and I coughed, pretending that it was nothing. We had just arrived in town and there were so many people around us.  
  
Inuyasha had presented himself to Sango and me just earlier. He had a favor to ask of us, of Shatura's Lost Children. I didn't know what to do and I wasn't leader so I had to take him to my uncle. Sango and I had to blindfold him and then I sent Sango ahead to tell my uncle of the prince. When we arrived, the place was clean and people were waiting for us, especially my uncle.  
  
"Kagome," my uncle suddenly interrupted my thoughts.  
  
I jumped, "Yes uncle?"  
  
"You look tired. Go take a bath and go to sleep. Remember, you have another task to be done in the morning," he reminded me with a get-out-of-here-look.  
  
"Okay," I smiled and bowed to both him and the prince.  
  
Uncle led Lord Inuyasha to his house at the end of town. When I saw them out of sight, everyone started to surround me.  
  
"Kagome! How come you brought the prince here?"  
  
  
  
"How was the assignment?"  
  
  
  
"We heard that you were coming with the prince from Sango so we rushed out to see!"  
  
  
  
"Did you have to fight the guy's soldiers?"  
  
  
  
"How long have you known him?"  
  
"Did the guy fight back?"  
  
"Are you two secretly dating?"  
  
Before I could respond to their questions, I kicked the person with the last comment in the stomach, which was followed by one of Sango's usual slaps across the head.  
  
"Miroku, just cause you're a guest here by my uncle doesn't entitle you to ask those questions," I snarled at him as all eyes trailed over to the lecherous monk.  
  
Sango managed to dismiss all the onlookers from our little scene before she returned to us.  
  
"I was just wondering Mistress Kagome..." he replied innocently.  
  
"Uh huh... And that would explain why your hand is wondering why it's heading towards my behind?"  
  
Sango jump kicked him in the face and he went flying over some bushes.  
  
"Make sure he's alive will you? I gotta go take a bath," I told her.  
  
"Sure, if not, I'll just knock him unconscious," she replied with a devilish grin.  
  
"Yeah, but don't kill him. Well, good night Sango-chan."  
  
"Good night Kagome."  
  
I went off to my house to grab my things for the bath and continue on from there. A small breeze swept past me as I took off my clothes before I got in the hot spring. I shivered.  
  
'Tonight's a little colder than usual...'  
  
  
  
I slipped into the warm waters and breathed a sigh of relaxation. My head rested up against the dry bank. Just then a thought ran into my head.  
  
  
  
'What did Lord Inuyasha want? It must be important if he wants to ask us for a favor...'  
  
My mind suddenly trailed off that to the incident that happened a week ago, when the two demons tried to kill the two brothers.  
  
'Who would want to kill the royal family of Shatura? I hope we get some more info from uncle's spies...'  
  
There was a slight pain in my chest. My hand suddenly grasped it as I took in a huge breath. After I had found Inuyasha, I fainted from the effects of the paaj-ua-zoo that had caught up with me quicker than I thought and the lost of blood I had. When I woke up, I found myself in the shrine again in the morning with my wound bandaged well and a splitting headache that was ready to tear me in half.   
  
I couldn't remember much of what had happened later that night, but I remember waking up several times that someone with white hair and yellow eyes was dressing my wound. I remembered that I was warm from something furry that was vaguely familiar but I couldn't remember what it was. I felt at peace from his clawed hands. Who was that?..  
  
My heart seemed to skip a beat and I blushed.  
  
'What? Why am I blushing? Just cause some guy touches me like that doesn't mean...'  
  
I blushed even more before anger overtook me.  
  
'But he touched me! Nobody touches Crimson Dream! The assassin of a thousand faces dos not fall easily to the hands of a man who touches her in the wrong places without her permission!... Even if he... even if he makes you feel warm and...'  
  
The "L" word almost slipped in and I shrugged it off and I dipped my head into the water to wash my face. Gosh, how long had I been in the water?  
  
"Kagome!" Sango's voice tore through the silence.  
  
I sighed out of frustration of having my peace and quiet broken, "What is it!?"  
  
"Your uncle wants you to go to his house right now! He says that it's urgent!" he replied.  
  
I sighed again, "Okay! Just give me a few minutes!"  
  
'I need some peace and quiet. One normal day without the screaming and yelling and work wouldn't be too bad now would it?'  
  
  
  
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It seems boring. Man, I'd better spice it up a bit soon huh? (^_^) R and R please! 


	6. Chapter Eight and Nine

Whoa... Eight chappies already. Can you believe it that I took about four hours just to do three chapters?  
  
Disclaimer: Yeah, I own this story, not you-know-whos.  
  
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Chapter Eight  
  
The dark prince finally laid down on his mat after lighting up the incense sticks. He closed his eyes and thought back to his meeting with his cousin from a week ago.  
  
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Flashback...  
  
"Onigumo, I see that the Prince of a kingdom of thieves has walked on his very on feet just to see his only cousin. I must say that I'm very flattered," Naraku smirked.  
  
Onigumo sneered at his only cousin, "I'm not here to play hooky Naraku. I'm here to help you."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at Onigumo's words, "To help me? Do tell me, dear cousin, just what do you intend to help me with?"  
  
Onigumo chuckled as Naraku's smirk dropped, "I know you desire Shatura to be one with your large kingdom. I could help you with that."  
  
Naraku scoffed, "Who told you of such things cousin?"  
  
"Why, your bitches' bastards did. They're quite smart you know, for little kids anyways. It's a shame though; they were only little kids. It's too bad they had to die."  
  
Naraku was suddenly in front of Onigumo with a venomous blade at his throat.  
  
"You killed my children?" Naraku demanded with poison in his voice.  
  
"And why not? It's not like you would do anything with them except marry them off to gain allies and they're not even old enough to be married. You're better than that, cousin. I know that you don't give a damn about your kids. I know that you're the type to take what you want."  
  
Naraku thought about it for a second and brought back his sword. Then he started to laugh and walked back to his throne. He sat down on his throne and smirked evilly at his cousin.  
  
"I guess you know me all too well cousin. And just how do you expect to help me conquer Shatura?" chuckled the dark prince.  
  
"I have some... friends you may say, who can help you very well, but they will only help you through me," replied the prince of thieves.  
  
"Really?.. And just what do you want to get in return? I know that you're not the type to give something away and get nothing in return. You want something, I can smell it."  
  
Onigumo was quiet, then he smiled smartly, "There is this girl that I want. She smells just wonderfully, and she's very beautiful. She's a miko, a very famous one by the way and there is no easy way to get her because she has her own love..."  
  
'A girl huh...' thought the dark prince.  
  
Suddenly, his cousin's face turned dark and menacing, "Her love is non other than that stinking Prince Inuyasha of Shatura! I want him dead and gone! Only we can help each other on this cousin! He holds her love and I want him dead! I want her very badly! I only dream of the day I will take her from that bastard hanyou!"  
  
"Hmm... Interesting... and what is her name?"  
  
"...Kikyou..." Onigumo whispered as if her name was a rare and precious thing.  
  
'Kikyou? She was a very well known miko. It would be hard to get her, but since Shatura's younger prince was her lover...'  
  
A plan came to mind and a dark smile plastered itself on Naraku's lips and it creeped Onigumo out. Even if they were cousins, there was a limit on how long they could stand the other...  
  
  
  
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End Flashback...  
  
Naraku's eyes opened suddenly.  
  
Kikyou was a young miko with extraordinary powers. If Onigumo had not been chasing after her, he, himself, would have taken her by whatever means necessary, but there was another who was almost identical in appearance to Kikyou. She was unique, different than the calm and composed Kikyou that many said her to be. The girl who he was obsessing over was an assassin, a very good one and he knew that she had killed many, but not so much as Naraku had killed. She was much like him, and he knew she would be easy to break so that he could take her whenever he felt it. Gods, he wanted her...  
  
"Kagome..." the name fell on his lips like flowing honey.  
  
"His highness proposes that we help him defend Shatura against the forces of Prince Naraku of Darkenhold," my uncle stated plainly to me, "They have declared war against Shatura and Lord Inuyasha had enlisted us in defending our home country."  
  
This took me back a bit. I looked at the prince who stared back at me.  
  
'How long has he been staring at me?...'  
  
"Okay... so what do you want me to do Master Taka?" I asked him.  
  
Uncle looked at Inuyasha then at me, "There is a spy or more in castle. Your job is to find this spy or spies and lead our people against Naraku's forces."  
  
"WHAT!!!!???" I practically screamed.  
  
"You will represent our people since you are our best. You will lead them the ones at the castle because I have other business to tend to back here-"  
  
"What do you mean at the castle!?" I interrupted him.  
  
Inuyasha decided to finally step in for my uncle, "You're going to stay with us at the castle with your people."  
  
"WHAT!!!??? WHY!!!!????" I screamed for an answer.  
  
My uncle held his head from my loud voice.  
  
"Kagome, if you stay here and Shatura is attacked, they will not and probably cannot make it to us in time since the capital is quite far away from here," answered my uncle.  
  
"But, I thought we couldn't go back to Shatura because-"  
  
"I have stated my case to my father, he will allow you in, but the people of Shatura won't be as lenient..." replied the hanyou prince.  
  
"Kagome, you must do as I tell you. Whatever you say won't matter. Either way, you're going and Lord Inuyasha has personally asked for you to go to the castle with him to lead our people," explained my uncle who was now a bit enraged by my outbursts and behavior in front of our prince.  
  
I was at a loss for words. What could I do? It was a big responsibility and I wasn't sure if I could do it, but my uncle was all who I had left. Better me than him if we were attacked. He was the only one I had left of my family...  
  
I sighed, "So when do we leave?"  
  
My uncle's face was flushed with anger, but it began to fade away as a small smile came to his lips.  
  
"Tomorrow morning. I have chosen another to take care of your task tomorrow morning so rest up. You leave early tomorrow morning with those I have chosen to go with you to the castle," replied my uncle.  
  
I looked at Inuyasha who quickly turned his gaze away from me. Lords know what he was thinking...  
  
  
  
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Okay, why are my chappies getting longer and longer? Oh well, the more the merrier, well, if they're good anyways. At least I'm getting somewhere with his story. Inu-chan seems to be OOC, I'm sorry, but I'll try to get his usual behavior in, but he's gonna have to change a bit for the story. Okay, R and R.  
  
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This chapter might be kinda long... Anyway, sorries for the extremely long delay. Even though I had spring break, I had work. Now tomorrow's back to school and my homework's not done, but I don't really feel like doing it at the moment. Hehehe...  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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I often have dreams of a boy (was it a boy?) who comes to me in the dead of night and takes me away to his secret place where the moon's light reflects on all the beautiful floral and fauna. His face is always a blur so I can't see his face, but I know he's happy to see me and excited about us about to sneak off. He'd always pick a flower for me, I think it was a rose, but the color of the rose is always different in each dream.  
  
  
  
He would give me the rose and I would grab it, rather clumsily and the thorns would prick my hand, introducing blood into the dream and forcing me to wake. I usually woke to a silent and dark night, with sweat running down the side of my face. The prickling sensation would still be there on my right hand (which always grabbed the rose) but there's no clue as to why my hand would always feel as if thorns pricked it. There was sometimes blood on my hands, but that was due to my fingernails digging into my skin... At least I hope so... but... What does it all mean?..  
  
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Chapter Nine  
  
"The journey here took longer than expected..." I sighed with exhaustion.  
  
It was night, very late might I add. We had just made it over the walls of the palace after climbing over the great walls of the capital and then scouring the whole city for a safe route to take to the palace without being seen.  
  
"We would have been here earlier if Mr. Priest here could keep his hands to himself!" added Sango with an angry glare at the innocent-looking houshi.  
  
"What? I'm sorry if the man looked like a woman. I just assumed that he was a woman, but how should I have known that he was in a big gang?" he defended himself.  
  
I rubbed my temples as Sango and Miroku faced off again on the "incident."  
  
"Look, I don't want to hear about the "incident" again okay?" I broke in and sighed.  
  
"Fine..." pouted the houshi.  
  
"Kagome, are you okay?" Inuyasha finally spoke up.  
  
Over the course of the five-day trip from the headquarters to the capital, Inuyasha and I became rather quick friends. Everyone took advantage of this and paired us together as a couple, which we weren't too happy with.  
  
"I'm fine... Just tired..." How long has it been since I slept?..  
  
"Then we'd better hurry," he said to me.  
  
My group was scattered, coming over the walls at different times and in different areas.   
  
They were silent as shadows, and quick, just the way they were trained to do.  
  
Inuyasha and I hid behind a bush as a couple of soldiers passed by. They suddenly stopped in front of the both of us and began chatting about the newest girls they met. I held my breath and counted slowly in my head. After a minute, I began to breath again, but as quietly and slowly as possible.  
  
"Dumb soldiers... I really need father to remove them and put in better ones or we'll all be dead..." mumbled Inuyasha.  
  
Finally, after I reached about 300, the soldiers left, laughing about who got whose girl in his bed.  
  
"What buffoons! I really have to talk to father!" Inuyasha mumbled louder as we continued to our destination when the coast was clear.  
  
I couldn't see my comrades anymore, but I knew they were close because they knew where I was too. We made it to the castle wall and Inuyasha pointed to a window that was lit. It was his father's room. He then directed me to a portion of the castle where the moon could not illuminate its light on. I took out my special climbing daggers and before I could dig it into the wall, Inuyasha stopped me.  
  
"What? No? Why?"  
  
"Because," he began, "I know of a more quieter way in."  
  
I watched as he felt his hand around behind a bunch of vines growing along the castle wall, but above a rose bush.  
  
"Where is it...Ah ha! Here we go!" he grinned.  
  
Just then, the rose bush moved forward and a small passage opened up in the wall.  
  
"Now you won't have much work to do and have the guards catch you!" the Prince smirked.  
  
'Whatever, as long as we get in...'  
  
I crawled through first with Inuyasha following me from the behind. We braved our way past cobwebs and creepy crawlies until we came to hear something sounding like running water.  
  
"The kitchen?" I asked behind me, but I couldn't see Inuyasha because it was pitch black.  
  
"No," came my answer, "it's where people... defecate."  
  
"...O...kay..."  
  
We crawled past the running water sound and I followed Inuyasha's instruction the rest of the way.  
  
"Are we lost?" I asked him.  
  
"...No..."  
  
"Are you sure? How many times have you been in here?  
  
He hesitated a bit, "just once."  
  
I stopped and blinked stupidly at him in the dark.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm just following where my father says to go. He knows of all the secrets passages because when he became king, (many tried to kick him out for not being of royal blood but he became king), he wanted to know where all the passages were incase someone should attack.  
  
Now, who and why should they want to attack Shatura anyways? (It's a waste of time and Shatura boasts of one of the best military in the world.)  
  
"Right...Left...Left...Right...Here we go...STOP!" shouted Inuyasha.  
  
I came to an abrupt halt and fell flat on my face.  
  
"B-baka! You could have at least warned me before hand!" I screeched back at him.  
  
He chuckled to himself.  
  
"I don't see what's so funny..." I pouted.  
  
"Ha ha... It's nothing. Hey, watch your step."  
  
"What?"  
  
Before I could understand what he meant, I was pushed forward in a rough manner and found myself fall about half a foot (on my face again )on a smooth, tiled floor with light all around me. After being in the dark, small tunnels for who-knows-how-long, the lights were almost heaven, at least I could see! Well, not really, after being in there so long (was it long?), the light blinded me and so my eyes were shut tight, trying to get adjusted to it.  
  
"Hey! Move it! I got to get through too you know!" came Inuyasha's voice behind me.  
  
I stumbled forward onto my feet and took a few steps away from where I came from, wherever it was.  
  
"Where are we?" I asked as my eyes opened little by little to focus on my surroundings.  
  
Thomp!  
  
I jumped by the sound.  
  
"Whoops! Heh... Sorry... I didn't know it'd be that loud when it closed. Um... We should be in the mess hall... I think," he answered.  
  
My sight was blurry, what was wrong? I couldn't see, well, except for these figures in front of me with these long pointy things... What?  
  
Clink!  
  
There was cold metal by my neck and it was sharp.  
  
"Make one move and you're dead," came a harsh, unknown voice, most probably the owner's.  
  
'Crap...'  
  
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Maybe too long? I dunno. Any mistakes then tell me, I can't promise that I'll fix them right away or ever, but hopefully it's the storyline that counts. Okies, R&R! (^_^) 


	7. Chapter Ten and Eleven

Man, my Spring Break was the worse ever. No fun or play makes PhoenixBlade destroy things.  
  
Disclaimer: This story belongs to me. Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and friends.  
  
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I used to cry a lot when I was younger. I got teased a lot because I would always break down crying about the simplest little things that didn't really matter...but...it all changed when a long white haired boy offered me his hand...   
  
"Don't cry Kagome... I'm here..." he would say.  
  
Then one by one, each descending tear that would force itself to descend would be given a ridiculous name and be wiped away by him. He would laugh happily as the last tear came and no more came after.  
  
"There, now didn't that feel good to not cry so much anymore?"  
  
I would smile and nod. He may me feel so happy.... But...  
  
"Hey Kagome? When the time comes... Will you come with me?..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Will you?... Kagome...?"  
  
"Wait... Where are you going?"  
  
"Far away..."  
  
"W-wait! Wait for me! Wait!"  
  
Then he would be gone and darkness and pain would consume my happiness once more. One question would then come to mind... Who was he?...  
  
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Chapter Ten  
  
The cold steel didn't scare me, but it was cold and I had enough of cold already.  
  
"What did you say?" I asked. Enemy soldiers!  
  
My sight was still blurry. What the hell...  
  
"I said-" came the voice again.  
  
I immediately reacted. I grabbed the weapon and pulled it out of the owner's grip. The owner was obviously surprised by this and I took the moment to jab it back at him, not really caring where it hit.  
  
"Oof!" came the reply.  
  
"Get her!" another shouted.  
  
I jumped as a dozen spears clinked together on the floor where I was a moment ago and I landed on the spears with ease. They pulled the spears out just as I jumped to the air again and twirled sideways to confuse the soldiers on where they would aim next.  
  
"My lord! Stand back!" someone warned.  
  
'What?.. They're not enemies?..'  
  
I landed rather gracefully and stepped on a spear that was not pulled back in time. I felt several spears come at me, and flung my right arm to catch the farthest spear to tangle up the order of the other incoming ones. They were obviously too dazed or confused to know what to do next. I grabbed a spear and used the blunt side to smack the owners into submission including the guy who owned the spear I stood on. They fell in a heartbeat.   
  
I then sensed two spears coming at me from both sides. I grabbed two fallen spears, stabbed them far enough into the tiled ground to stay in place and support my weight as I flipped myself upside down with both hands on either of the spears. I spread my legs and quickly and skillfully wrapped my legs around the incoming spears. I held onto them firmly and using the owner's strength, I flipped backward with all my might and brought the soldiers down with their spears as I landed unharmed and still composed. A long silence ensued.  
  
"I can't believe it! A woman defeated them, a dozen of well trained soldiers!" someone spoke up after a long silence.  
  
"Inuyasha! Where are you? I can't see well and I don't know why!" I started to say.  
  
Sight was an important sense along with the other five senses as well. My people learned to hone their senses very well and use it to their advantages. Because of that, we've been called demons by mistake.  
  
"Blind? A blind woman defeated us?" a soldier groaned.  
  
Clap! Clap!  
  
"Huh?" I felt Inuyasha's hands wrap around mine as a hearty and happy laughter rang through the room.  
  
"That was a spectacular show there Kagome, or should I say, Crimson Dream," a kind, but rough voice bellowed.  
  
The room soon echoed with many astonished voices. Apparently, my name was also well known here, well, Crimson Dream anyways.  
  
"Wh-who are you?" I asked as the voices died down.  
  
I heard him walk up to about a yard away from me.  
  
"Kagome, this is my father, Lord InuTaisho," answered Inuyasha.  
  
'INUTAISHO!!!????'  
  
He chuckled, "Welcome to Shatura, daughter of Shatura's Lost Children!"  
  
I fell to my knees immediately and started to bow to him. I pressed my face as closest to the floor away from the drops of blood that came from the soldiers I hurt.  
  
"Forgive me my lord!" I frantically searched for words, "but I did not know it was you! I'm sorry for my bad manners and-"  
  
"Kagome, get up! Stop looking like a squatting chicken!" Inuyasha hissed at me.  
  
I ignored him.  
  
  
  
"Please get up child," kindly demanded the king.  
  
I had to obey him and stumbled to my feet with Inuyasha's help.  
  
"Child, is there something wrong with your eyes?"  
  
"My lord, I don't know what happened, but I followed your son, Prince Inuyasha through the dark tunnels in the castle to-" came my almost finished sentence.  
  
"What!? Inuyasha! You had her go through the small tunnels!? You know that there's Blinding Dust in there that affects humans incredibly!"  
  
His hands dropped from my own.  
  
"Yeah, well, you see, about that-"  
  
"You and I are going to have a LONG talk, but in the meantime... Sesshoumaru!" bellowed the great lord.  
  
'Sesshoumaru?'  
  
I heard someone take a few steps.  
  
"Bring the young lady to a nice room!"  
  
"As you wish, father..." replied a low, monotonous voice.  
  
Suddenly, I remembered Sango and the others.  
  
"Wait! My lord, my people are here too! They must have board also!" I told him.  
  
"Oh right! Call them here child! It's cold out there!"  
  
"Right," I said, but I felt them by already, "Sire, they are already here."  
  
"Really? But I don't-"  
  
I sensed them suddenly beside and behind me.  
  
Sango, I knew it was her, kneeled to the side of me and bowed, "My king, we are here at your disposal. Whatever your wish is, we will do our utmost to fulfill it."  
  
The king laughed, "What grace and great respect for your elders! I've taken a great liking to your people already! Very well! Commander! Tell the servants to ready the rooms for our guests and make it quick!"  
  
"Yes sir!" came the reply.  
  
"And take care of the soldiers she took down, they don't deserve to be left like this and unattended."  
  
"Sorry," I mumbled.  
  
"Sesshoumaru?" the king spoke again, but seemed to be agitated because his son was not obeying his order.  
  
"Yes, father. I will bring her now," came his reply.  
  
Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped itself around me and lifted me up.  
  
"Wha-"   
  
I had no time to voice my opinion as Sesshoumaru glided across the room to the door as the king ordered some servants to get the doctor to check up on me.  
  
I felt hot. This was the first time a man, much less a demon, had carried me in his arms.  
  
He was silent and I didn't want to get in his way, but talking nonsense and I didn't know what to say either so I remained quiet as well. After what seemed like forever, we entered a room, my bedroom I guess, and he laid me down on the bed. He helped me get adjusted to the bed and was soon on his way out the door.  
  
"Thank you..." I murmured as sleep began to claim me.  
  
His footsteps stopped abruptly.  
  
"Your welcome," he said back and returned on his way, shutting the door to the room gently.  
  
I sank my head deeper into the pillow. How long had it been since I last slept well?  
  
Before I could think of it any further, I fell asleep instantly.  
  
  
  
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I have a two page essay due tomorrow, but I have no clue as to how to do it nor do I care. Oh well, at least I took the time to type this up. Okies, laters! R & R! (^_^)  
  
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ME VELLY SOLLIE!!!!! I was at Pella, Iowa for the White Privilege Conference. Don't worry, nothin bad there really and the name doesn't mean what you may think it means.   
  
Anyways, it was alright, though I do wish they should have put a little bit more focus towards the minority groups too. Then I came back home and had to catch up on a ton of homework and tests, which I'm still trying to catch up on still. If I had a computer with me and the internet, I would have updated, but I'm not that rich...  
  
Okay, from now on, when Kagome thinks to herself, there'll be '...' ok? Of course, "..." means talking but just one set of one means thought.  
  
Well, on to the story!! (finally...) (^_^);  
  
This story is property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz and all others who own it. Like I said earlier, I'm not rich, I'm poor so please don't sue me!  
  
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Kind and sweet... Harsh and bitter... I was both sides of the same coin. Light and dark. A child of light created from the darkness. That's how I saw myself, a child of light, born from the dark. It was darkness that was my father and light that was my mother. She was innocent, pure and radiating with happiness, untouched by the gloomy depths of hell, but...Hell arrived. Hell was burning with dark, melancholy spirits that spread and consumed everything it touched like a contagious disease that could not be cured. Darkness raped the light and produced me. Who was I? A child of light or a child of dark?...  
  
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Chapter Eleven  
  
  
  
I opened up the blinds to the dark room I was in. Sunlight washed into the room with such speed that my eyes abruptly closed because my eyes weren't adjusted to the light yet. Slowly, they opened until they were no longer afraid of the light.  
  
'Light... I really can see...'  
  
Somehow, my eyesight had returned sometime during the night. The doctors that had been summoned to help me really did their job well.  
  
'But I wouldn't have been in this mess if the prince had a smarter brain... He took the coward's way in, not the assassins'...'  
  
A few loose strands of my hair fell in front of my face. I brushed them to the side with my hand.  
  
'But still... Prince Inuyasha...He makes me feel...like a child again... Could he be...?'  
  
I sighed and pushed the thought to the side. Impossible... It was just a child's memory of long ago, maybe from someone else, but it certainly wasn't my memories...  
  
Knock! Knock!  
  
I quickly put on my disguise, a black patch over my left eye and red contacts. The same disguise I had on whenever I left home for very long business, except that my green dyed hair was in a dishevel mess. The knocking came again and I told them to enter.   
  
A young maid entered the room and presented some clothes to me. On went the black shirt and pants. On went the black boots and gloves. On went the red cape that was a symbol of my status as Crimson Dream. The maid then led me to where Lord Inutaisho, his sons and my comrades were waiting for me.  
  
  
  
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"My lord..." a deep, crackled voice rumbled throughout the room.  
  
Prince Naraku's eyes strayed from the mirror. His eyebrow rose slightly as if to say that the person who spoke had disrupted something important.   
  
In the center of the room, which was Naraku's throne room, a rather dark yet small figure jumped from the imposing presence from his lord. He was rather scrawny, but looks were deceiving, he was cunning, had managed to outwit and outrun many, even one of the famed Crimsons Lotus' who were the most deadly and slyest ones around, which was why Naraku decided to keep him. He needed someone fast and that person was he, Negor, the demon of speed.  
  
"My lord," Negor and looked down to avoid Naraku's stare, "InuRaijiu of the Western Lands demands for your assistance. He cannot take the opponents on any longer without y-"  
  
"Let the fool rot. He wasn't that useful of an ally anyway. I have what I need now to get what I need," replied the now smirking dark lord.  
  
Negor looked at his master in surprise. The rumors were true. Naraku was indeed cold and untrustworthy. If Naraku's target were smart, they would just turn away, but in this case, InuRaijiu was tempted by Naraku's sweet voice and promise of power.  
  
He had first heard of this lord when the lord of the Western Lands had taken him in as his personal messenger. InuRaijiu had sent him to send a message to Naraku and it was from that moment that Naraku's seductive power latched onto Negor, making him a double agent for Naraku and InuRaijiu. If one should fall, he could always go to the other.  
  
Negor bowed and left the room. Naraku turned once again to his mirror, but a loud bang from the doors that was shoved ajar and an annoying voice that he had gotten used to, interrupted his what-would-have-been-private moment.  
  
"Hey cuz!" came the voice of Onigumo.  
  
Naraku turned sideways to glance at his cousin. A small smile spread on the corner of his lips.  
  
"Oh, what is it now dear cousin?" came Naraku's sweet voice.  
  
"Anala and Daleus just got themselves a new bodyguard and they want you to meet him," answered the bandit prince.  
  
  
  
A bodyguard? This interested him. Anala and Daleus just inherited the throne to the kingdom of Thelas. They were the only surviving bastard children of the late king and so the kingdom, which was a short-termed democracy, was "given" to them when they came to claim it, with Naraku's help.   
  
The sister was psychotic, a little too playful for Naraku's tastes, but the brother was solemn, dark and brooded a lot. Naraku liked people like that. They didn't seem to be the type to trust anyone other than Onigumo and just recently, Naraku himself, but a bodyguard? What was so important about him that they just had to have him?  
  
In came Anala, a blond, medium cut haired, green-eyed seductress. Her skanky clothes reeked of perfume, men and blood. Who knows how many men crawled into her bed with her? Her body was perfect, but her mind was not and if her body was not satisfied, she would satisfy her mind with the blood of her lover.   
  
Behind her emerged her silent, woeful brother. Red haired and green eyed, he was an image of beauty to many women and almost identical to a women to some men. Many lusted after him from both sexes, but all would fall to his scythe for he was given the name of the God of Death since his ascension to the throne. He was deadly and merciless in battle, a force to be reckoned with.  
  
"Come in darling!" the annoying yet seductive voice of Anala called out.  
  
In walked an armored knight with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. His face had an expression of nothingness, but held a youthful and handsome beauty. He stopped beside Anala and bowed to Naraku.  
  
"Lord Naraku, I am the loyal and devoted knight of the kingdom of Thelus and to my lord and lady. My services, I give to you second only to my lord, King Daleus and lady, Queen Anala," the monotonous faced knight spoke.  
  
When he resumed his composure, Anala was suddenly all over him.  
  
"Isn't he such a cutie? He's my darling right now. Daleus, don't you love our new lover?" Anala giggled.  
  
Her silent brother's head was turned away, looking out a window as if it were more entertaining than what his sister had to say.  
  
Naraku ignored her comment, but looked at the knight before him. He was strong; he could tell that, honor-bound and loyal too, he was indeed a knight of Thelus. but there was something else about this man. Something secretive, almost dark, but hidden so deep that Naraku wanted to find it out. He knew that he would like this man.  
  
  
  
"Hmm... May I borrow his man sometime, my dear friends?" Naraku's sweet voice rang out.  
  
Daleus looked away from the window to Naraku then to young knight, who stood like a stone stuck in the dirt as Anala continued to play with him. Daleus nodded to Onigumo after what seemed like forever and left.  
  
"Looks like Daleus gives his consent cuz!" Onigumo laughed.  
  
Anala pouted, "Oh phooey! That mean brother of mine won't let me play with my toys! Oh well, just make sure he's back in time for bedtime or I'll miss my favorite bed blankie."  
  
Naraku smirked, "As you wish..."  
  
In the next moment, they were gone. Naraku took a quick glance around to see if anyone was around before his gaze returned to the mirror with a wide, evil grin plastered on his face.  
  
"Now... Where were we?..." he chuckled sinisterly.  
  
The mirror suddenly began to fog up, then immediately, a girl appeared in the mirror. Her hair was long, and dark green. A red cloak covered her dark clothes that signified her status as death bringer to those who would dare mess with her. A black patch over her eye added a more sinful look to her. Her red eye had almost a demonic look to her. Anyone who saw her would have to look again if they wanted to mess with her... She was absolutely enticing.  
  
She threw her long hair back with a laugh of confidence and joy.  
  
He craved her... body... and her soul... he wanted everything... and he would get it, one way or the other...  
  
  
  
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It had been a couple weeks since I had been there at the castle and everyone joked around that Inuyasha and I were a couple. Well, we couldn't say anything against that. We were always together talking, walking, eating, sparring and whatever. Well, I can't help it, he was fun to be around with and he made me feel... almost whole and welcomed. Of course, I found it out then, later in the week, that I had feelings for him...  
  
"Kagome?"  
  
I looked up from the petals on the ground from the Sakura tree that I sat under. Inuyasha smiled down at me with warmth in his smile and eyes. I began to love those eyes of his. They reminded me of... of... someone...  
  
A slight breeze blew past us as he gave me his hand. I looked at his hand, confused. He was asking something, I knew it. I looked at his face. The smile was still there, but the eyes were asking me. They asked me, "Will you?"  
  
'Will I..?'  
  
I looked at his hand once more. A small smile spread across my face as I looked back at Inuyasha's face once more. My hand rose on its own power and enclosed itself in his. His grip on my hand tightened a bit as if to say that he understood. His smile grew even more with my answer, "yes... I will be your girlfriend..."  
  
He pulled me up into an embrace, an embrace that only lovers would share. His nose dug into my hair and he sniffed my hair as if he were familiarizing himself with his newfound territory. Oh well, he was a dog demon and their need for their territory was as strong as their pride.  
  
He pulled me in tighter just in case I would change my mind.   
  
'Of course that'll never happen!'  
  
Well, never say never...  
  
My eyes had been closed the whole time from the excitement and joy of becoming Inuyasha's new girlfriend. When I opened them, from the farthest end of the garden, what I saw and amazed me was Inuyasha's beautiful brother, Sesshoumaru. He looked on at us for a second and hastily turned away when he noticed my gaze rested on him and went on his business as if we were insignificant in his eyes, but that wasn't true...   
  
There was something wrong with him...   
  
I had been told that he growled angrily when he saw two lovers sharing their delicate moments together. He would tear them apart and scold them for being inappropriate in public. I had been told that he was merciless when he rejected girls who were interested in him and humiliated them by directly rejecting them in public. I had been told that he never let a single second go by when he caught lovers together and always separated them with harsh and cruel punishments...   
  
I had been told so many things, but... he just walked away from us without saying a word and disappeared...  
  
  
  
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I think this one is shorter than the last one. I rethought this one over a lot and went through several drafts (which all sucked btw, including this one) until I just decided to choose this one. Well, hope you liked this one at least. Okay, this story is not really getting anywhere so I'll try to speed it up a bit. I oughta make a novel outta this story cause it looks like it'll be more than twenty or thirty chapters. Please be patient with me! Until then, R & R! Ja ne! 


	8. Chapter Twelve

Well, here I am again with another chappie to go. I'm almost done with the next one. Also, very sorry that I am very late with this chapter, been VERY busy with my schoolwork and after school activities, didn't know it'd take up so much of my time. Well, after the Diversity Show my club's doing on Wednesday and my French project on Thursday, hopefully I can probably have some time to upload the next one and continue with the rest of the chapters.  
  
Oh yeah, I got Spirited Away last weekend. VERY good movie! You should go rent it or buy it.  
  
Okies, on with the reading! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and friends are the sole property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and others involved.  
  
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Chapter Twelve  
  
"Shit!"  
  
Nighttime veils covered everything in darkness. The demon, a lesser one, but nevertheless, a demon, screamed at me as I barely made it out of its clawed hold. I quickly turned around to confront my enemy, but he had taken to the air and was planning to take me by surprise. As he came down, not expecting my speed, my sword found its way into the flesh of my demonic enemy.   
  
A strangely, foul-smelling ooze (probably his blood) flowed from his fresh wound and he fell to the ground like a rag. The demon no longer stirred or moved and I pulled my sword out rather hastily. My breaths came out in large gulps and pants of air. My gloved hand, that was free, went to wipe my forehead of sweat. It did so only to return to my gaze with blood on it.  
  
"Aw...shit!" I swore.  
  
The demon, though a lesser one, had managed to whack me on the head with its surprisingly strong-clawed fists earlier on. Blood that belonged to the both of us flowed down my head.  
  
'Bastard...'  
  
The castle had been attacked by many lesser demons, none were noble or very cunning either, but they came in swarms. Why? I don't know, but one thing was for sure, my group and I had to protect the castle and the lords. We were all prepared and beat most of the shit out of all of them, but a few got away. I managed to catch up with them and finally took care of this last guy, who made it such a pain to chase and take out.  
  
I felt dizzy and walked several yards away from the dead body of the demon. I had been getting sudden attacks of nausea lately, though I couldn't understand why. I settled down on the cobblestone floor. Which was pretty old looking. I took out a handkerchief from inside a small tight pocket that I always kept to stay clean to clean my sword. I stroked it across my sword several times then the light of the moon decided to play with me its light reflected off my sword into my eyes. I turned away quickly with my eyes shut in a heartbeat. A moment later, I opened them and then I suddenly took notice of my surroundings. Where was I?  
  
Trees surrounded the cobblestone path and small ponds were scattered throughout the place, but only a few looked to be beautiful and working. I sat down on a cobblestone pathway to some garden nearby with well-trimmed bushes in elaborate shapes like animals that greeted the viewer and visitor.  
  
'Why is a place like this not affected by the war?'  
  
I didn't know why, and at that moment, I didn't care. What I did care was that I had to drag that stupid carcass all the way back to the battle sight where it began in the town square.  
  
I finished cleaning my blade and sheathed it into its sheath. With a few more deep breaths of air I got up to my feet and dusted off my clothes though it was unneeded because they were seriously stained with blood from the ones I had slain and myself as well. I bent down and took one of its arms and pulled.  
  
"Damn... you're so goddamn heavy you piece of..." I swore at it.  
  
It was lifeless and still, its head bobbing with every tug or pull I made, but it was heavy. I dragged it back to where I had started to chase it, back in town. I was tired, feeling kind of weak, smelly and dirty.  
  
'I need a bath...'  
  
As I made it down an ally, a very dark one I might add, I felt something tug. No, it wasn't at my clothes or my hair. It was more like a pull as if to get away. I looked down and found two glowing green eyes staring back at me with snarling fangs to boot. The arm I had was quickly discarded as I jumped back and pulled out my sword to attack position.  
  
"Damn! You're not dead yet!?" I cursed.  
  
"Ningen!" he screamed angrily and lunged at me.  
  
I swung my sword back and prepared to meet his flesh, but nothing hit, it was gone.  
  
'What the... Where'd he go-'  
  
A cold and pointy claw wrapped itself skillfully around my neck from the back. My sword clanked to the floor as my hands drew up to its hand to release my neck. He raised me up from the ground and my feet rapidly swung back and forth to feel for the ground. It was getting harder to breath.  
  
"Foolish ningen... I knew you would put down your guard once you thought I was dead!" it laughed.  
  
'Dammit! I forgot to check...'  
  
My sight started to get blurry and fade to black because I couldn't get nay air in.   
  
'Shit! Is this it?..'  
  
My struggles began to lessen, I was weak and tired and trying to get some air in my lungs, which wasn't happening.  
  
'Help! Someone help me!... Help...'  
  
"Hahahahaha- gah!"  
  
Its hand loosened from around my neck and I pried it open with the last once of my strength. I fell to the ground and damn did it hurt! I gasped for air as if it there was no tomorrow. Well, there wouldn't be one for me if I didn't. The blackness stared to fade away, but nausea and dizziness stayed. My sense of coordination and balance was off, all my senses were off, the pain was overriding them all.  
  
"Baka..." a deep, smooth, but serious (and obviously masculine) voice spoke.  
  
My gaze shifted quickly to my rescuer, well, hopefully he was my rescuer, and I grabbed for my sword nearby in case he wasn't.  
  
"Woman, I saved your life. It would discredit me greatly if you were to take mine, which you wouldn't be able to do in your condition," the voice spoke again.  
  
My vision cleared and I looked up to someone clad in mostly white and armor. Situated on his shoulder was something fluffy and unmoving (AN: Is it his tail? I read somewhere that it wasn't but I keep seeing these readings that say it is his tail). Finally I found the face of my rescuer. Two marks signified his demon inheritance and his solemn, expressionless face told nothing.  
  
"Sesshoumaru..." I murmured and fainted as blackness hit me at full blast.  
  
******************************************************  
  
"Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" a white-haired boy shouted at me.  
  
I jumped down the last step onto the grassy ground. The boy ran up to me very angrily with his fist in the air shaking to scare me off.  
  
"I can be here if I want to! Besides, you don't own this place!" I stuck my tongue out to enforce my counter.  
  
"My dad owns this place so that makes me owner too!" he replied back harshly.  
  
My arms crossed across my chest and my eyes narrowed on him with a deadly stare that looked like it could kill anyone within seconds. It worked with the other kids at home who always picked on me. Unfortunately, he wasn't a bit scared by that. Instead, he countered with his own glare of a thousand deaths and with a raspberry to boot.  
  
That pissed me off. Nobody does that to Kagome Higurashi and gets away with it, NOBODY!!!  
  
"Dog-turd! Nobody does that to me and gets away with it!" I practically screamed out of flaming anger.  
  
"Dog-turd!? Why you-you baby! Noone calls me dog-turd you-you baby!!" he screamed at me.  
  
"I'm not a baby! I'm six!"   
  
  
  
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I held them back. I was so much stronger than that and his next words infuriated me even more.  
  
"Baby! Baby-baby-baby-baby-baby-BABY!!!!" he chanted mockingly.  
  
Boy was he asking for it! My hand curled into a fist and I swung and hit a homer, right in his face and he went flying all the way past left field, and landed with a loud thump. He quickly got to sit on his behind and his hand went to his left cheek, which was swollen like a large purple plum.  
  
"OwowowowowowowowOW!!!!" he pouted in mad rage.  
  
"Hah! Serves you right dog-turd!" I laughed at him.  
  
Suddenly, he lunged at me and tackled me to the ground and we started to duke it out on the grassy ground. Just then, two strong hands grabbed the both of us and pulled us apart roughly. Still swinging blindly everywhere with my eyes still closed, the strong armed one dropped the dog-turd and grabbed my fist as it came close to his face. My eyes opened and my surprise in what I saw could not stop the sudden feeling of awe and lowliness that swept through me... It was-  
  
"WAKE UP KAGOME!!!"  
  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
I woke up.   
  
'Damn...'  
  
A huddle of faces peered down into mine. I couldn't tell who they were; my eyes were still quite blurry.  
  
"Kagome! Are you alright!" the near-scream almost made me deaf.  
  
Whack!  
  
  
  
Someone smacked the speaker on the back of the head.  
  
"She's alive dimwit, so don't make her deaf!" came the smacker's reply.  
  
I began to move to a sitting position, but hard waves of pain struck me, reclaiming the memories of what had occurred. Despite the pain, my body went stiff as I made it to a sitting position. I noticed that my whole group was there. Several were by me while the others were standing around, surveying the dead and destroyed or talking with another of the group or with a Shaturan soldier. We were in the town square.  
  
"Shit! The demon! Is it dead?" I asked.  
  
Sango's face became the first clear face I saw.   
  
She sighed in relief at my behavior and smiled at me, "Yes, thank goodness its gone and you're alive!"  
  
"Hopefully I'm still able too," I groaned as a flicker of pain hit when I moved.  
  
"Here, let me help you mistress Kagome," an all too familiar voice with different intentions asked as a hand grabbed my derrière.  
  
With poison and venom in my voice and eyes, I voice every word directly to him, "Remove your hands monk, before I cut them off."  
  
His hand flew off, "Well, why would you do that Kagome? I was merely offering my assistance."  
  
His sweetness in his voice almost made me want to laugh out loud, but Sango's boomerang made the first move before I could laugh at all. He went flying to a nearby wall.  
  
  
  
"That oughta make him think twice before hitting on you again. I swear Kagome, why did we have to bring him along with us? I mean, I know the master wanted us to, but why'd you let him in?" she asked.  
  
  
  
I shrugged, standing up with Sango's help, "Some things... you just don't ask, but just do."  
  
  
  
Then realization hit me, I was over there and now I'm here so...who brought me here?  
  
  
  
"Who brought me here?"  
  
"You won't believe it, but it was..." one of my group members started to say and she hesitated.  
  
"Sesshoumaru?" I finished, not quite remembering what had happened although the memories kept rewinding and playing through my head.  
  
Everyone nodded with quiet yes's.  
  
'Sesshoumaru...'  
  
"KAGOME!!!!" Inuyasha's voice rang out in desperation and fear.  
  
The group around me quickly moved far to one side as Inuyasha sped towards me at top speed and threw his arms around me, not noticing how much it hurt for me. His hug was very tight so guess how much it hurt?  
  
"Kagome-are-you-alright-I-was-held-up-by-some-demons-and-" he continued on at top speed.  
  
"owowowowowowOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" I screamed finally from all the suffering I endured.  
  
  
  
He finally loosened his hold of me in confusion as I slumped into his arms.  
  
"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, but first, ask me how I feel before grabbing me and killing me!"  
  
"Oh! Sorry..."  
  
Sango broke in with an angry expression on her face directed at Inuyasha, "Hey! Where were you Mr. I-love-Kagome-but-wasn't-there-to-protect-her-for-some-reason!?"   
  
He hesitated, "I had other things-"  
  
"Crimson Dream..." a vaguely familiar voice spoke.  
  
I turned to the speaker who was a girl like me. She was dressed in black and red with shoulder pads and a breastplate. In her left hand was a sheathed sword wounded with a red cloth. She bowed to me and I to her  
  
"You are...?" I asked her.  
  
"My name will be presented to you later, but I am here to see how you are faring. Are you well?" she said.  
  
"Yes. I would like to thank you for helping me earlier for dispatching that demon behind me."  
  
She shook her head, "No, thanks to you, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't warned me of the trap that had laid before me. I wouldn't be here if not for you. Thank you."  
  
She bowed to me again.  
  
"Now that I see that you are well, I will take my leave. Later," said she and left.  
  
"Whoa... Who's that? How do you know her Kagome?" asked one of the guys.  
  
"Yes, how did you find a splendid woman like her?" asked the now-recovered Miroku.  
  
Sango's boomerang rose to smack him again, but I stopped her.  
  
"I don't know her, but earlier, I got in a little trouble and was trapped by a large group of demons who had ambushed me, I killed them all, but missed one and it almost got me if she hadn't appeared. Then we kind of teamed up and went after some more, but she wasn't really paying attention as she was fighting a demon and almost fell into a trap. Luckily, I bailed her out in time."  
  
"She looks different from those in your group Kagome, but she resembles you very well. Maybe my father knows of her," said Inuyasha.  
  
I nodded, "Maybe he does..."  
  
'I may not know her, but one thing's for sure, she's no threat to us...'  
  
As the group continued talking, I felt someone watching me. I took a few sneak peeks here and there and saw nothing. I saw a couple of vermin scattered into small holes as several of my group kicked them away. Nothing wrong with that, but why was that horrible feeling still lingering around?  
  
******************************************************  
  
The next day, Inutaisho summoned us all to his throne room. Uncle was there too, strangely enough. Everyone was there, so was Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha who stood next to their father. I couldn't keep eye contact with Inutaisho because of Sesshoumaru's gaze. I still had to thank him for yesterday.   
  
'Why does he affect me so? Why? Could it be that perhaps Inuyasha and I weren't meant... I love Inuyasha! Why is this happening to me!!!!?????'  
  
"...and I would like you all to know that our two new allies are not our enemies. I noticed that in battle, you all hesitated when one of them entered the fight and knew not that she was our ally," said my uncle without a single stammer.  
  
He continued, "I should have told you all earlier, but at the time, we were all busy and I could not present her to you ahead of time so please respect them as you would respect me because their help in the war would bring the war to our side."  
  
A few seconds passed and I felt something very strong come from above and somewhere on our level in the room. My hands whipped to me weapon as did a couple of others who could sense them. Good or no, we could feel it that these ones had taken many lives and spilled much blood, even innocent.  
  
Inutaisho, my uncle and the others on their side including the princes and their guards made no move as two crimson figures seem to materialize right next to my uncle. It was...the girl from yesterday and another I did not know.  
  
"Hands off your weapons!" yelled my uncle, "these are your newest comrades!  
  
Light brown eyes and violet eyes that seemed almost red, gazed out at all of us, particularly me. I suddenly knew who they were and my hands fell from my weapon. I bowed to them, forcing everyone else to do the same.  
  
Returning from my bow, I greeted them, "Welcome to Shatura, Crimson Moon and Crimson Blade."  
  
******************************************************  
  
Well, I added two more characters, but I'll try not to add too many in more later... okay, maybe a couple more, but I promise not many more! Besides, they and a couple of others will have a BIG part in the story. Okies. That's I for now. Come back again. R&R please... (^ 


	9. Chapter Thirteen and Fourteen

Bad news for me, but good news for you guys, new chapter! Man, this is talking a long time though! I gotta get doing with this story. Anyways, bad for me is that I didn't make it to Post Secondary for next year. Bad, bad, bad... Oh well, I brought it on myself though cause I didn't pay attention in class or do my homework. It sucks though, cause two of my friends are probably gonna make it and they're like the only two who make it interesting for me at school. I might as well take OJT.   
  
I can't stand it at school any longer. Oh yeah, btw, I go to Roseville Area High School. (It's in Minnesota btw for those of you outta state or not familiar with the school location.) That school sucks. I gotta do something cause I feel so unmotivated these days. Someone motivate me!!! Someone inspire me so that I can do and will do good in school!!!  
  
(Gackt did inspire me for a while, for a few days at the most so that I would one day go to Japan with a good education, maybe teach English there, but I soon lost it..)  
  
Okay, forget my ramblings, I have to go talk to a counselor. Well, now to the story.  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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Chapter 13  
  
The three Crimsons were now gathered. Now we would all be a force to be reckoned with.  
  
"That's right, we were lucky enough to stumble across you two and not end up dying by your hands," said my uncle.  
  
They gave him a confused look. We were no longer in the throne room, but were in his majesty's study room with us three Crimsons, the royal family, my uncle and several others of importance.  
  
InuTaisho chuckled, "Your fame are known far and wide. This land may not be near where you had lived or are the same, but your name rings fear into every human and demon alike. Children fear you from the nighttime stories that their parents tell them."  
  
"Really..." one of them with the violet eyes sighed as if exhausted.  
  
"I must tell you that the both of us have lived a life away from the wars and battles so taking up our former names and everything that comes with it are... quite alien to us," spoke Crimson Moon, the light brown eyed one.  
  
"My battle skills may have tarnished a bit so I may be out of it for a while... but, I have things-questions that must be answered that may have begun when this war started," said Crimson Blade.  
  
Crimson Moon added in, "As do I. I know not how long this war has gone on, but it has happened and I have things to find answers to. Since you are all in it, I might as well join and hopefully, I can find my answers at the source."  
  
"I know you girls have your own agendas to take care of," said my uncle in a very serious tone, "but keep in mind that you are also on our side so please keep track of where your loyalties lie, at least for the time being."  
  
They both nodded.  
  
"Uncle-er uh... Master, I'm pretty sure that they have been through much so we can't just dump the pressure of their status on them," I told him.  
  
Crimson Moon shook her head, "No, I must bear this responsibility right away. It is my duty as Crimson Moon to not bring about failure when I am assigned to a task, particularly one like this."  
  
Crimson Blade agreed with her, "Your concern for us is generously appreciated Crimson Dream, but we are Crimsons and we have been out of action for a while. We must bring back the intense danger of our names into the hearts and minds of our enemies. Only then, can we defeat them at their moment of weakness and bring about peace afterwards. This is our job, to do the dirty work of our employers..."  
  
  
  
I was silent. They were right. I did do the dirty work, my people did the dirty work, but it was only for Shatura, our home country. Our love for her continued to burn in our hearts and it was strong enough to make us strong to kill for her. It was sad enough as it was that we had to be her bloody hands that killed because we loved our motherland. No, she did not ask us of this nor did she force us to kill for her, we protected her through our own will.   
  
Would she gladly accept us back even after we had slain so many with their blood forever staining our hands? Or would she throw us back out, in the cold, defending our homeland until we died? Who knows, all I knew was that I had slain many, innocent and evil...  
  
We three Crimsons were soon kicked out of the room for the lords and important people to talk about war. We stood outside the room until they needed us. We remained silent until a man in his mid-thirties arrived. He stared at us and we at him. His eyebrows scrunched up as if he were in pain and he took a in a huge gulp of air, as if he was preparing for the worst to happen.  
  
"You three, Crimson Moon, Blade and Dream. You do know how you received your names do you not?" asked the man who I recognized was Shongi, Inutaisho's human general.  
  
We all looked at each other and nodded.  
  
  
  
He almost murmured, "Yes. Crimson is also the color red and when blood is spilled, it coats everything near the dead. You three have slain many and much blood has been spilled on account of your blades, even the blood of my best friends and loved ones..."  
  
  
  
We were silent. Was he judging us?  
  
  
  
"But... I cannot do them justice for I have sworn loyalty to Inutaisho and his sons. Their word is the law and I cannot disobey. If I could, I would avenge my friends right here, right now... But I cannot. Be as it will, your names were derived from the many you have killed in cold blood and from the jobs you had taken. Many fear and hate you and still do. Do you know how many assassins were hired to take you three out?" asked Shongi.  
  
Crimson Moon and I bowed our heads in sadness and were greatly ashamed of our past.  
  
  
  
Crimson Blade turned her head away in shame, "...Many...Very many, but they were not all assassins... Some were normal, everyday people who had children or jobs to do, but lusted for revenge for lost loved ones whose lives I took away from them and in the process, every life that came to take my life... I took theirs..."  
  
"Shongi-" I began, but he snapped at me.  
  
"DO NOT...call me so informally Assassin of a Thousand Faces! My name is not for yours to take as well because you have taken away the most important people to me... My family!" he choked back on some tears that would not come.  
  
"...I'm sorry, but I do not remember..." I replied in a quiet voice.  
  
"Of course you wouldn't, but I did! I remember everything! My family and I were with a caravan going up north carrying a young soon-to-be-bride of my wife's cousin. My wife was carrying my second child and I remember that she sat in the center of the carriage with her cousin's soon-to-be-wife and my five-year old son who waved to me out the window as I patrolled on top of my horse," he paused and smiled suddenly, but his face became grim and foreboding.  
  
His voice began to crack, "Suddenly, a swarm of arrows flew through the air and struck all the people in front. Many died from descending barrage of arrows, but some lived. I escaped due to my shield although I received a wound to the leg due to an arrow, but my steed fell to the rainfall of death. I grabbed my wife, my son and the bride. We started to run like hungry, mad dogs after a piece of sausage. We were so desperate to get away that I totally forgot all the others who had survived the arrows."  
  
He held his breath for a minute and closed his eyes, then he continued, trembling from the memories of the past, "They were all slaughtered by one person... One who wore red and black that were blood and death... She had long dark green hair and a black eye patch over one eye all of which I later found out, was her favorite ceremonial wear when she was to massacre many by the dozens and there were many that died..."  
  
We all remained silent and I could not bear to look up at him, but he looked at me and I just had to look up to see what he thought of me... Bad choice... His face was flushed with an angry red and was shaped into that of a man who was on the edge of breaking apart and of a mad killer who had serious psychological problems.  
  
He resumed, "After you slaughtered them all, my comrades in arms, my friends and several of them whom I greatly respected... You came after us four. My wife was slowing us down because of the baby and my son was slowing us down as well because his small feet couldn't extend far enough to keep up with us. The bride had trouble because of her dress. I had problems because of my wounded leg that was becoming swollen and bled like crazy.  
  
I forced the others on and defended them the best I could, but you were too much for me and you struck me down. I remember all the wounds you gave me and also the excruciating pain I had to go through... Then, you just walked up to my wife, son and the bride, quiet but deadly," he gulped down another chunk of air."  
  
My eyes closed, the memories were returning, "Yes... I remember... I was thinking that... that it was sad to kill someone as young as her, but my mission had to be successful or the failure would have dramatic results upon my people. I went up to them and your wife stood in the way and threw her arms wide apart. She tried to make a deal with me, her life for theirs, the bride and your son... Sadly, I could not comply. I had to kill all those in my way and she was in the way as was your son, who snuck from behind her to protect his own mother. The fear in their eyes and the courage to protect one another is still clear to me as if it were yesterday... I remember..."  
  
My head started to hurt... So much happened in such a little time...  
  
He looked straight at me, but his eyes were looking past me, to the past, "I saw everything. You assumed that I had died or was dying, but I was not. I saw your sword swipe down quickly against them and they all fell, blood spattering everywhere as a pool of blood formed beneath them. There, my wife and the bride died instantly and you left, assuming them all dead. After an hour or so and when I was sure you left, I got up with the remainder of my strength and found my son to be barely alive.   
  
I took him and cared for him for two straight days, from dawn to dusk, ignoring my own health. He lost a lot of blood and he wasn't healing. By the third morning, he was dead. I built graves for the three of them and prayed. I mourned for almost a whole week before Lord InuTaisho came and saw the carnage, well, what remained of it. Demons had come and eaten much of the flesh of the dead. For some reason, they did not come to claim my life even though I had wished for death.   
  
InuTaisho and his men had dispatched of the remainder of the demons who still roamed around there. I was grateful that he got rid of them so they wouldn't disturb the grave of my wife, son and the bride. My lord brought me here and brought me back to health. For that I cannot repay him for what he has done for me and so I must serve him with the utmost loyalty.   
  
  
  
It was later that I found out that my wife's cousin was hit with demons also before InuTaisho and his people could kill them. They were killed before the demons got to them. They were all slain by you, you again! The demons loved the smell of flesh and so ate their rotting flesh. Sad news... I do not think I can see another Crimson appear because the world is now sad and angry with you three!" he cried.  
  
He sniffed a couple of times and turned around to leave, but paused and finally spoke, "That's why I shall always hate you Crimsons, and I will never stop hating you. When this is all over, I will come after you all..."  
  
With that said, he left and his footsteps faded away back into silence. The long silence prevented us from speaking to one another. We were all deeply struck with what he had told us. It was the job of an assassin that I regretted, not my loyalty to Shatura.   
  
"...I'm sorry..." was all I could summon up to say to the darkness.  
  
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I'm tired and sleepy and groggy and hungry. I need to get another job. I'm losing touch with all my friends and relatives, I need to be forced to do things. Okies, R & R.  
  
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@2  
  
Hi again. I know it's been forever since I updated so sue me. No wait, don't, I only get seven bucks an hour and I work four times a week, I don't earn much!!! Don't sue me!!!!! Anyway, I finally decided to update so be happy at least. This story seems to be getting nowhere...  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Chapter 14  
  
As the days rolled on and on, I saw even less of Inuyasha as I normally would have. Where was my Inu-chan?...  
  
Tears ran down my cheeks... then, her image came to my mind. The fool had the audacity to appear in my weakest moment!?  
  
  
  
Why? Why did they always come when I thought of... her? The weakling... It was because of her weakness that she died... The fool... It was also because of her that I was weak...  
  
"Kagome!" came a shout.  
  
I was in the library of the castle, tucked away in a book with no intentions of making myself known or wanting to. Where was Inuyasha when I needed him the most? One thought of the stupid woman and tears sprang forth. When we first became a couple, I always ran to him because that was when I started to think of her more. Why?.. Where was he?..  
  
"Kagome!" the shouter was obviously annoyed that I would not show myself, I couldn't.  
  
I hid myself well into the bookcases with darkness by my side. The speaker shouted for me several more times and left after coming to the conclusion that I was not in the room. I couldn't see anyone right now, not when I was this vulnerable.  
  
"Man, sucks a lot when you get a boyfriend, you start to depend on him more..." I mumbled to myself.  
  
It was true. I had started to depend on Inuyasha even more; I couldn't even stand the fact that we could be separated... No, that wasn't it... I just needed him when I needed him... Was that why I was attracted to him in the first place? Was he only my pillow when I needed one? Inuyasha... I didn't truly love him like a woman loves a man. I loved him as...  
  
I slapped myself on the forehead; I had to stop myself from becoming anymore weaker. That was how she died... She was weak... I couldn't lower myself to her level.  
  
The tears came out even more now. Why? The Assassin of a Thousand Faces now had on a face, the true one? I don't know, I've forgotten which was the real one and which was the fake. Pitiful, I've forgotten who I really am. These last sixteen years have really gotten to me...  
  
The book fell as my hands went to my face. The tears would not stop. I couldn't hold them back. Where was Inuyasha? Since the day when the demons attacked the capital (about two weeks ago), he was disappearing a lot and sometimes, he was caught red-handed coming through the back door of the kitchen the next morning. His answers were always grunts or counters.  
  
Stupid.... Baka... Baka.... Baka. Baka-baka-baka-baka-baka-BAKA!!!!  
  
"Kagome, you're such a baka...." I told myself.  
  
Even my new friends, the other two Crimsons who became like sisters after the few weeks, were of no help to me. Pain enveloped my heart and spirit. Who would set them free?  
  
Inuyasha!!!  
  
I then noticed that my hand had unconsciously gone to my sword, which was lying at my side. How or when it got there was a mystery to me, but I knew what was going to happen. Never before had I ever attempted to do this.   
  
So... It all comes down to this huh... If it's the only way, so be it... at least I won't die of weakness. I'll die before I do...  
  
My thumb pushed against the hilt and the sword popped out of its sheath.  
  
Weakness... Wasn't this weak?  
  
Who cares... At least it'll all be over with in one final stroke...  
  
But will it end your pain?  
  
Pain, I feel no pain!  
  
Ah! But you do... Pain has driven you to this solution. Well, if that's what you call it, a solution...  
  
Man, forget you! As long as this feeling of being pathetic is gone, then I'll be happy!  
  
Yeah right.  
  
Shut up!  
  
I grabbed the handle of the sword with my other hand and pulled it out. A flash of light met my eyes. I quickly shut them tight, gulped down my spit and prepared for what was coming...  
  
Well, I at least thought I was prepared for what was coming, but I really wasn't. A hand grabbed onto my sword, actually the blade, and pulled it out from my hand with a grunt of pain. There was a loud clank and I opened my eyes as two arms and a body wrapped around me. Most possibly, it was to stop me from continuing to try to kill myself. The person pressed my body hard against theirs. Yep, total precaution for them so that I wouldn't do anything dumb.  
  
I saw white and... a lot of white. White hair-Inuyasha?-no... He was gone this morning, and probably wouldn't return till the next morning as he had been doing the past few weeks. That would only mean... The only person who I knew that had white hair and wore a white kimono was-  
  
"You fool! What do you think you're doing!?" Sesshoumaru growled into my ear.  
  
I inhaled deeply to explain, but nothing came out. I didn't know what to say or do. What would I say or do? I don't know... I choked on a cry and then sobbed like a maniac into his shoulder.  
  
"I-" I started but stopped.  
  
What was I trying to say?  
  
"It's because of him isn't it? That stupid brother of mine..." he said.  
  
Was he trying to comfort me? Well, it didn't really work, but the tears now came less.  
  
"His eyes don't see the woman who is important before him. He sees only the things that used to be meaningful to him," said the great white one.  
  
Used to be? You mean... He had another before me?  
  
"That damned fool..." said Sesshoumaru.  
  
One of his hands slid up into my hair and pulled my head in deeper. I started to cry like a baby again. I couldn't help it... I was second best. All these years of trying to be the best... I came in second-no-I came in last again. The girl who was nothing to anyone... Like the past...  
  
I gripped onto his shoulders and released my rain of sorrow on his shoulder and he pulled me in closer. My tears gradually became less and he pulled me out.  
  
"I... am such... a weak fool..." I choked.  
  
"Weak? All ningens are weak, there is no mistake about that," he snarled.  
  
So much for comfort...  
  
"But," he continued with a gentler voice, "Ningens are great people despite their lack of strength. What they lack in physical strength, they make up for their emotional power..."  
  
Is this comfort? I guess so. Anything that comes from Fluffy-sama that isn't about you being short and/or pathetic is probably one of the first of decent things that he's ever said to me.  
  
"...Thank you," I hiccupped.  
  
He grunted a "your welcome."  
  
I then noticed there was blood on the floor, his blood coming from his hand behind me that had pried my sword by the blade out of my hands.  
  
"Sesshoumaru! Your- your hand! It's-"  
  
"Do not worry about it. It is only a minor flesh wound. It will heal quickly," he assured me.  
  
I was skeptical, but he surprised me with a slight smile, "I will be fine."  
  
I believed his every word. (AN: Oh come on!!! The guy's hot!!!! Wouldn't you do the same thing too? ;P)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"My lord!"  
  
"Yes? What is it Shongi?" replied the youkai lord.  
  
He was in his study room, tending to his paperwork. Shongi stood before him, panting heavily because he had ran the whole way to the king. For what reason? He would find out...  
  
"Naraku has finally declared to the public that he is declaring war on us!" answered Shongi.  
  
The youkai lord suddenly looked up from his paperwork, "What!?"  
  
"My lord, he is also speaking for the two kingdoms of Celuruse and Delaruse!" spoke the general with great fear and panic in his voice.  
  
"Celuruse and Delaruse?... Wait... Weren't the two kingdoms going to be untied by?... Didn't Celuruse and Delaruse have a diplomat who was quite popular with both of the kingdoms?"  
  
Shongi thought about it for a bit, "I think so my lord. He was on his way to unite the two kingdoms with peace talks and I was informed that both did intend to become one, but he was mysteriously assassinated by a bar maid one night."  
  
"Assassinated huh? He enjoyed the company of women a little too much from what I heard..."  
  
"Too bad it's what killed him," scoffed the human general.  
  
"And now-" began the king.  
  
"And now," broke in another speaker who was Kagome's uncle, "because I sent my niece on that mission, both of those two countries need to find someone to blame... Unfortunately..."  
  
The youkai lord and Shongi gave him a worried look of what was to come from his lips.  
  
"The blame falls on you my lord because they have found out that we had done it, we had assassinated the great man of diplomacy. They know my lord, that currently, we are now helping you," finished he.  
  
Shongi spoke up, "Word has leaked out somehow my lord. Our people and many others now know of the Lost Clan aiding us. Unfortunately, our people still have not forgiven our royal ancestor prince of the dark who used the dark powers to help the kingdom of light. They demand for the removal of our assassins my lord."  
  
"...And you Shongi? What are your feelings towards them?" asked the king.  
  
"... My lord, they are great allies and fighters, but... there are only three of them whom I have a personal vendetta against. Other than that, I have no hard feelings towards the rest. I am sorry my lord..." he answered.  
  
The Inuyoukai sighed, "I understand how you feel Shongi so there is no need to apologize."  
  
"My lord? What is your say in this?" asked the Lost Souls Clan's leader.  
  
The youkai lord inhaled deeply. Moments drifted by as a million thoughts ran through his head.  
  
"...Shongi," he finally spoke, "Prepare the people for war..."  
  
Shongi nodded and bowed. He then left. The youkai lord then turned to the other person in the room.  
  
"And you? What will you do now that the people know of your presence and whom you have with you? They fear your people and your niece even more."  
  
"My lord," replied he, "Throughout history, we have been helping Shatura in the dark and yet we cannot show her who her rescuers are. Our duty is to serve you because you are Shatura's leader. Shatura comes first and foremost, even before our own lives. We must protect and defend the country that we love. So whatever happens, we will be by your side and fight your enemies to the death..."  
  
"...Very well... Prepare your people, we must be ready for the safety of our people and for our land," said the lord.  
  
"As you wish..."  
  
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Well, Inuyasha has ditched Kagome. Sorries to you Inu/Kag fans but it ain't gonna happen between the two of them. You'll find out later. She's gonna end up with someone else so please don't kill me! (I'll try to make it up to those of you who are Inu/Kag fans! Somehow...) Okies, I remembered that I didn't state that there was a war going on but there is. It's actually a secret war, but Naraku has just made it public so that's bad. (You know, I just noticed that Kagome's uncle has no name... Hmm... Well, it doesn't matter, his name isn't that important anyways.) Okies, that's it for now, laters! (^_^) 


	10. Chapter Fifteen

Sorries, took longer than I thought to update. Well, these next chappies kinda suck. So if I wasted your time, please tell me and feel free to skip them, but I warn you, you will miss out on some valuable info (I think?)for my future chapters. Okies, well, enjoy! (^_^)  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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Crimson Dream...  
  
A woman who many feared yet none knew of her true identity. Was Crimson Dream man or woman? Crimson Dream was a dream all right, one minute, you're basking in the glow of the sweetest of dreams, the next minute, she just hacked and slashed your lover to pieces, a true nightmare for those who believed in dreams. That's what I was to them all, why they all feared me, I was the only one who left them all in a state of disbelief, victim or no, they were all brought out of their dreams to reality.   
  
Fools, was it a dream or no? To them, it was like a dream, did it happen or didn't it? Believe what you want, it is your choice whether you want to live in your world of fantasy or grasp onto reality... because that's what I live in everyday, in between the dreams of fantasy and the nightmares of reality...  
  
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Chapter 15  
  
Inuyasha no longer showed up for any more meetings. Like he would have cared these days...  
  
I coughed. Sometime during the night, I had caught a cold and was still recovering. I would have liked to stay in bed, but the morning called for other plans.  
  
"My lord, your son is missing again," said one of InuTaisho's advisors.  
  
We were in Lord InuTaisho's study room again.  
  
He sighed, "Yes, I know, but I can do nothing, he's too stubborn. He's gotten to that age you know."  
  
My uncle chuckled, "Those were the days..."  
  
"Oddly enough, I do wish to live through my teenage years once more," smiled the youkai lord.  
  
Sesshoumaru scoffed and I looked at him. I still had to thank him for comforting me last night and for the time he saved me when the city was invaded (which was a few weeks ago, but I still didn't have the guts to thank him.)  
  
"Shall we begin?" asked Crimson Blade.  
  
"Begin what?" asked I.  
  
"My story," spoke someone.  
  
We all looked at the speaker, it was Crimson Moon.  
  
"Let us hear it Rune," said my uncle.  
  
She nodded and began...  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"My real name is Rune. I am the bastard child of a whore. I am now eighteen and became one of the most dangerous yet one of the best assassins in the whole world at the age of thirteen. I am known as Crimson Moon because when I kill, much blood is spilled, coating everything around in red.  
  
People have said that when there are full moons, I leave more people dead than any other people who have died from illnesses and accidents combined from the full moon before. They say that the moon's reflection, from the blood of those I've slain, looks like it is red and sometimes even bleeding...   
  
I was murderous... I was cold... I was lethal... At least, I thought I was until I met... a dragon knight named Shade. The man was deadly, just as I was, but he protected with a cause to do good and always got in my way, but I will tell you all that later...  
  
I was raised in a small town out in the country, but it was not where I had been born. I didn't know where I was from in the first place. My foster mother had told me before she passed on into the after life that she found me on the bank of the river by her house. On my blanket was the word Rune and she decided to call me that.  
  
Life was hard in that house though, my foster father hated me the minute my foster mother brought me home, but he allowed my foster mother to keep me. He was a rich man, but was greedy for money and had a mistress long before I was brought there. The mistress already had a son who was a few years older than me. What was even worse was that the mistress was treated with the best respect in the house and my foster mother was ignored. She treated my foster mother like trash and me, even worse.  
  
Later, when I turned eight, my foster mother died, but before she did, she told me that I could have been the daughter of a whore. My dreams of my real parents perhaps being royalty or some great adventurers were ruined. I was the daughter of a whore, a bastard child. She died and I was left to the cruelty of my new stepmother and stepsiblings.   
  
Then I met a traveler who my foster father had invited to our house. The man was kind to me and very wise. I was young, but I instantly fell in love with him. The man filled my head with hopes and dreams. He taught me many things while he stayed and he became my best friend, but... he soon left and I had enough of my family so I ran away in hopes of him allowing me to join him in his travels.  
  
I got lost though and could not find him. Then an old man in his fifties came and found me. He took me in and taught me the rules of being an assassin and so on. His name was Midnight Gale, a Kaiser assassin. Yes, the Kaiser Assassins were the best assassins in the world, but they worked in secret so many did not know of them, but there was only one Kaiser each generation. The Kaiser was assumed to be immortal because each one possessed a skill similar to the last so it seemed that they never died and in actuality, it was probably true.  
  
My master taught me everything, from assassination to math to literature. Even the Kaisers needed to know how to read and act among the common folk. He tested me almost everyday to see if I had improved or not, it was hard, but it was worth it... We practiced fighting everyday and he would always beat me down. I swore that I would defeat him one day, but what I didn't know was that he was secretly testing me, awaiting for the day that I would defeat him and pass his test that every Kaiser Assassin before had given to the next one.   
  
The day I defeated my master was the day he died, along with all emotions of kindheartedness and others that could distract me from my work. I killed my master. I had no intentions that I wanted him dead. I just wanted to defeat him, just once, but that just once meant that I would have to kill him and become the next Kaiser Assassin. Of course, if I didn't pass his test, he'd kill me and find another student. He gave me his weapon, which had been given to the Kaiser before by their masters and told me it had belonged to the first Kaiser. I had become the new owner the moment I gave my master the finishing stroke.  
  
I left and traveled for many days until I could find a job. I traveled as a messenger boy so as to not raise any suspicions. I found jobs later though. They were simple things, like killing people for their money, land, women, all those things for my employers. I told my employers that I was a Kaiser Assassin, but they assumed that I was exaggerating, and those, that did not send me away, sent me on suicidal jobs. A vague attempt to get myself killed and end my pathetic life.  
  
Well, they started to believe me and soon, I was sought by many afterwards to kill people or to be killed. I was up to my knees with work for assassinating political figures, large rivaling families or companies, even jobs that were not associated with assassinating, such as being a bodyguard, fighting in an army and so on...   
  
By day, I was Rune, a traveler on a pilgrimage but by night, I became your bogeyman. Would I come after you? Would I slaughter your children in front of your eyes in the midst of the night? Would I gut out your insides and feed it to the wolves while you still lived? Yes. I would if my employer wished it of me and had a fine bonus to go with it. Of course, if anyone, who was not my target, saw me doing my job, they would not live to see the sun rise the next morning.   
  
A rule of the Kaiser is to never let anyone see you kill. If you were to stab a man to death in public when the sun was out in front of millions of people, you had to kill them all. I had to do that because I was sloppy when I first started. I had to assassinate a warlord during the night, but I was careless and his soldiers (probably a million of them, I don't remember) suddenly came after me with a vengeance. It took me all night to eliminate all of them. The work was hell, but the pay was good. I got better and became perfect, no mistakes... at least, I was perfect...  
  
I had gotten a job under a foolish weakling who cared more about his money than his own life, but he agreed to give me half the money of my target once he was dead. I went out and killed the man. Suddenly, just as I was about to leave, a man appeared and I readied to kill him, but he stopped me. He looked almost identical to the man that I had been searching for! He offered me a job and if I was interested, I would go to him at an arranged place. If I did not want to accept, I could go there and kill him.  
  
I returned to my current employer and he turned his back on me and sent his lackeys at me. I slew all of them. The man tried to kill me, but I evaded him and warned him not to come after me. If he did, I would kill him slowly. I left the fool alone and decided to take up the mysterious man's offer.   
  
He accepted me as easily as I came into the meeting place. He knew of me and wanted me as his personal assistant, bodyguard and assassin. For a long time, I worked under this man and was seduced by kindness and his promise of a better tomorrow for the both of us. I followed him closely and did his every command. I began to love this man, he looked like the man I had loved when I was eight, but he was not.  
  
During one of my assignments, I came across Crimson Blade, whose name was just as popular as mine was. She was protecting my target and we dueled out until late in the morning. Seeing that our attempt to defeat the other was futile, we called it a draw and left. My mission had failed and I returned back to my master, but not once did he scold me or hit me. He simply smiled and told me it was okay. Yes, he was a good man even though he had bad intentions for the rest of the world; he was precious to me because he gave me nothing but kindness. He treated me like a woman... I loved that man... until Shade came along.  
  
He was a dragon knight and a very popular one among my targets. He was a bodyguard with undying devotion to the man he was employed under. I could not get past him at all on all the missions that were to deal with my target that was guarded by him. My master soon started to see me distracted by this man and also by a man named Case. You could say that he got jealous, maybe even possessive of me.  
  
He started to be forceful with me. Our nights together were rougher and aggressive that left me with bruises and with a painful heart. Case was my only comfort. I met the man as Rune. He was clumsy, charming and fun to be with, but when push came to shove, he would be serious, but that was rare. The man became the light in my life, but... I knew it that he wasn't all that he seemed. Our meet-ups were not mere coincidences and all the assignments I took, he always somehow ended up where I was... As did Shade to Crimson Moon.  
  
I began to suspect, but hoped not, that Case was indeed Shade. I tried to ignore it and did not tell my master, but... Case had been thinking the same thing, was Rune the same person as Crimson Moon?  
  
He tried several efforts to see if I was indeed Crimson Moon. He cut off a bit of my hair as Shade and asked me as Case how my hair got cut. I lied, but he did not believe me. He finally gave me a ring as Case. I was an idiot and promised him that I would never take it off and as Crimson Moon, I still had the ring on. Shade and Crimson Moon met up and he diverted my attention again. We had always been in a fight to protect or kill our targets, but sometimes, we just met up and ended up talking and not fighting as if we were two best friends. He noticed the ring and knew it then that I was Rune.   
  
I didn't know what to do, I had to kill him and so I tried, but he showed me who he was. I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him. To unveil the mask of the Kaiser Assassin was the ultimate risk and meant your death... I could not kill the man who I had fallen in love with. Through carelessness, many people discovered both of our true identities and sent many to kill us and so did my master.   
  
Luckily, Case knew of a safe and remote place, a village that was located deep in the mountains. The people welcomed Case, but were skeptical of me, but they soon grew fond of me. They were the Magik Clan, a clan of ancient magic users who knew of the oldest spells that were forbidden and unknown to the outside world. Despite their knowledge of great and powerful magic, they were nice, peaceful people. It was then that I wanted to stop being an assassin and just be a woman by Case's side, but fate would not allow me to do as I wished...  
  
My master found the both of us and slaughtered the whole village. We barely escaped and found temporary sanctuary in the place that had banished Case, his home village in the Valley of the Dragons. It turns out that in his early teens, he had attempted a daring and suicidal mission to the stars on the back of his dragon. He almost died, but survived, but his dragon died, risking its own life to save his. To lose one's dragon was to lose one's membership in the Dragon Clan. They banished him the day his dragon died.  
  
Without his dragon, he could not become a full dragon knight and achieve the highest ranks above being a Dragon Knight: a Dragon Champion and the hardest one of all, a Dragon Master.   
  
Dragon Champions could fuse with their dragons but only for a short time and knew of a few of the Dragon spells. For a Dragon Master though, they could fuse at will for long periods of time and had mastered all the Dragon spells. A Dragon is needed for this, but for the few that needed the use of the dragon magic without the dragon were given a chance. If they could pass a test that was given by the dragon people's ancestors, then the power would become theirs. This was Case's decision...  
  
He told me of the technique, the ability to fuse without a dragon, but the test was difficult. He went on with the test but after he left, my former master attacked us. The Dragon Clan Warriors and Knights with their partner/guardian dragons and I fought with all our might to protect the village, but... The whole village was decimated and even a child who I had befriended was killed. I was caught and was to be punished, he wanted me to suffer for betraying him. Then out came Case.  
  
He had passed the test and had perfected the dragon fusion technique in a matter of minutes. He had surpassed Dragon Champion to Dragon Master with the help of the spirit of his dead dragon. He disposed of most of the soldiers, but we fled again afterwards.  
  
I finally had it and didn't want to flee anymore or be Crimson Moon either. I left Case in the middle of the night and took my own journey back home to where my troubles had began, back to the step-family and foster father that did not love me.  
  
They gave me no indication of welcoming me back home or wanting me there. My foster father was sick. He would not let me see him nor would my step-mother. They kicked me out as easily as I came in. Well, it seemed that they didn't know that I was Crimson Moon despite the fact that my identity had been revealed. I would regret having ever going there though. My step-brother was gone, but he was working for my former master and there were spies even at my foster father's house.  
  
I went to the place where my mother had found me. My mother had marked it so I found it quite easily. Nothing too interesting, but I could tell how I got there. The river ran downstream so I went upstream in hopes of finding a clue as to who I really was even if I was the product of a one-night stand.  
  
I then came across an old peddler woman who was blind. She could not find her walking stick so I helped her find it. She thanked me, but strangely enough, she asked if she could touch my face. Well, I allowed her to. Her hands were warm and gentle. Who was she? Did she know who I was? The woman felt my face. Every feature that she found remarkable about me, she smiled until her hands dropped and she was laughing out of happiness. I asked her why she was laughing.  
  
What she told me, paralyzed me (from what kind of emotion I don't really know) but those words must have ran through my mind a hundred times until I could understand or hoped to.   
  
She told me that I was her daughter, which could only mean that...  
  
She was my mother...  
  
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God, took me soooooooooooooooo long to put this up. Had trouble editing it and I still don't like it. I hope I didn't waste your time cause the other half is in the next chapter, so continue on please. 


	11. Chapter Sixteen

Okies, continuation. I wanted it to be one chapter, but my sister told me it was too long so I made it into two. This story may yet be thirty or forty chapters. It'd be like a whole book! Sorries for taking up your time. Well, enjoy! (^_^)  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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Chapter 15 continued...  
  
(or Chapter 16, it doesn't really matter)  
  
She brought me to her house. It was a run-down shack of one room, but it was homely. So, my mother was an old peddler woman? I asked her if she abandoned me because I was the product of her being a whore, but she replied no with a laugh. No, she wasn't my biological mother, but she took care of me when I was an infant. In a way, she became attached to me, but when my mother took me back, she gave me up, but hoped the both of us a safe journey. She then told me the truth about my mother.  
  
My mother was indeed a whore. Her parents sold her, when she was a young child, to slave traders because they had too many children in their family and not enough money to feed them all. They ruined her and deflowered her at a young age. Over time, she became a popular one among her customers and so she was given to many men at ridiculously high prices. She had tried to run away several times, but was caught each time and brutally punished.  
  
She became pregnant many times and each time she gave birth, her masters always killed it. Her life went this way until she was an adult in her mid-twenties. She then met a man, a very rich man with a high rank. He was a general, a famous one for a great kingdom that no longer exists.  
  
The man seemed to be like any other customer at first, but he treated my mother with so mush respect and loving care that she fell in love with him and he with her. Love, though, was not allowed to happen in a whorehouse. The man was intent on buying her, but had to go off to war. He left my mother with hopes and promises of returning to her. He also left her pregnant with a child, me. He was looking forward to having me with my mother and so gave my mother a present to someday give me. He was thirty-six at the time, or so I was told.  
  
My mother continued to work for her masters, but when I was about five months, she fled after drugging her masters into a long sleep. She then came across a peddler woman who helped my mother up to the point when I was born. Throughout the whole time that she was gone, her masters had gone looking almost everywhere to find her. They finally found her and dragged her back to work. They punished her and slashed her heels so she would not run away again. My mother obeyed them until she managed to win their trust back and got them very drunk one night later.  
  
My mother ran away again, but not very fast. Although they drank heavily, her masters recovered quickly and ran after her. She made it to the peddler's house and fled with me in her arms, leaving behind my father's present to me with the old peddler woman so that if I came back someday, she would give it to me. My mother passed a woman and begged for her help, but the lady refused to help her. That lady was my foster mother. She was on her way to commit suicide and saw no point in helping. So my mother continued on with me.   
  
She didn't make it very far though. She made it to a rocky bank but her masters caught up with her and tried to punish her again and drag her back. My mother struggled and they pushed her. She fell, but I had fallen in the river, but luckily, I was in a basket. The river pulled me downstream until I landed on the bank where my foster mother found me. My mother, though, fell down on the rocks very hard and broke her skull. She died instantly.  
  
Her masters feared that since they pushed her down she would haunt them beyond the grave and so fled. There ended the life of my mother, but the peddler woman told me more. From what she heard from her travels in the cities, was that the kingdom that my father was the general of, was in the state of war during the time he and my mother met, but the kingdom was demolished. My father died in the final battle alongside the king, his eldest brother. My father was thirty-seven, he was a great and famous general, a prince and a man in love who was ready to give all that up to become a father.  
  
His name was Kai-shin...  
  
The old peddler woman gave me a necklace that had a ring on it. On the ring was a red ruby and on the inside of the ring read Shin. I recalled that there did live a famous general that died defending his lost kingdom and many called him Shin, he was my father. So, I was the only surviving princess of a dead kingdom? So it was.  
  
The old peddler woman brought me to the grave she made for my mother. I paid my respects and she then brought me to where my mother had died. The old peddler woman left me alone. I stayed there until night arrived. I knew that my mother was still there, I could feel her spirit. When the moon came out in the dark of the night, from the darkness came my mother's spirit. A ghostly apparition of her, but she was beautiful. It was no wonder why she was popular among her customers.  
  
My mother was kind and warm to me, but I was angry with her, angry that she left me, angry that she had me at all. She apologized, but told me that she did not want me to live that kind of a life she had. She loved me the moment I came into the world. I was going to live a happy life with my father and her, but fate chose otherwise. She only came to see me that night, because she missed me. My father and she were lonely without me in the other world, but they wanted me to know that they loved me and hoped that my life was going okay.  
  
I spoke nothing to her and she left me a few words before she left, but I stopped her. Why mother? Why didn't you run away with father? She couldn't. My mother may have been a good person to bed with, but she was as fragile as a delicate flower in the field. She was weak physically, it was a wonder on how she managed to give birth to all those babies, but if she had gone with my father, she could have died and I along with her. My father had many enemies, and they weren't just the opponents he faced on the field either. Women conquered the others for his affection alone. My mother was not ready for that.  
  
I would have been at risk and so would have my mother. That's why she couldn't leave. It had been years and I managed to finally see my real mother, but only love for your parents could go real far. So when I tried to hug her, she faded away like smoke, but told me that she and my father wished for my happiness only and they loved me. Then she was gone.  
  
I returned to the old peddler woman and gave her my thanks. She told me to be careful and watch my health and I said the same thing to her and left. Before I left, I wanted to say a final farewell to my foster father. He may have been a bad man to me, but he was the only father I knew and I wanted to pay my respects and my prayers of getting better to him. What I got, was not what I was expecting.  
  
  
  
I arrived at the house to encounter my step-brother at the gate. He was taller, a little bit more buffer than when I saw him when I was eight. He was in a way, handsome, maybe a ladies' man or a player. Whatever he was, the grin he flashed at me and looks he gave me were not comforting. Pretty soon, I was fighting for my life. My brother had his own group of highly trained assassins and he had set them on me by surprise. It would be a miracle if I had survived it. I did end up living, in shackles and bruises all over me. I had defeated most of them, but I had begun to tire out and so my step-brother took a feint blow to me and took me out cold.  
  
I awoke in shackles, but not in a comforting place. He had me stripped of my armor and most of my outer clothes and tied down to bed. The bed belonged to him. I didn't have to ask him what he wanted of me, I could see it in his eyes the moment he walked into that dark and foreboding room. I went ahead and asked anyway.  
  
He told me that his master wanted me back. I was too good to let go. Just as long as I was brought back alive and strong enough, his master wouldn't care if I were deflowered by another man. That was the very idea that my step-brother had in mind. You see, we weren't blood brother of sister, heck, we weren't much of a family either, that much I could agree... but... that didn't mean that I would become his fucking slave. (hey, at least you get to see the two meanings of it!)  
  
So he went ahead and had his fun anyway. I remember screaming and struggling, but no knight in shining armor could save me... but I did get saved, by someone I didn't expect. Before my "brother" could get to what he referred to as the "best part," in came my foster father who ruined my "brother's" little fun.  
  
He couldn't have my brother deflowering me, if was just gross and undignified. I wasn't family to my brother's eyes, but to my foster father, I was the only daughter that he had with his first wife, the woman who he had truly loved. The only reason why he let my foster mother keep me was because he knew she was unhappy and so he let her have me so that she would be happy, even if my life would turn out bad due to my step-mother.  
  
My brother laughed at our father. He then explained that it didn't matter either way because he wasn't his son either! This shocked my father. It turns out that his mother was already pregnant with him before she seduced my foster father to bed with her. She was using him too. She was just some random prostitute who wanted money.  
  
My foster father then saw that everything that he had done was useless. He said that he had gone with my step-mother because he had done some wrong and could not turn back. At one point, he was in love with my foster mother, but he felt that he wasn't treating her right because he was always gone and so turned to another woman, hoping that my mother would decide to leave and never come back. She never did because she loved him too much to leave him.  
  
Then, my step-brother took out a dagger out of nowhere and stabbed my foster father in the heart. He looked at me, apologized for everything because he did love me as his daughter and died. My step-brother only looked at our father with an evil smirk and returned his attentions to me.   
  
I don't know what went on with me, but seeing the man who had been my father for as far as I could remember die in front of me, I just snapped. A strange power exploded from me and engulfed the whole room with its light as my brother screamed at the blinding light. When it receded, my shackles and the ropes tying me down were gone, so was my brother and everyone else in the house.  
  
I found my armor and other clothes and took several days to return to where I had left Case. He was gone, but left me a message on where he was. I met up with him there and told him everything. He asked me how I was feeling, the only thing I could do was hug him and cry.  
  
Later, we joined up with a group that wanted to destroy my former master and his plans of conquering the world. When the final battle arrived, we went to his castle, but he knew we were coming.  
  
We were caught and brought to him. He then revealed that he was the man that I knew when I was eight. In truth, he was two people, but had become one. He was the second Kaiser Assassin or actually, was one of the second Kaiser Assassins. The first Kaiser Assassin, after obtaining the ancient sword that was given to me, trained the second Kaiser Assassin along with another, but due to his lust for power, the first Kaiser Assassin killed him and named his other student to continue on for him.   
  
My former master told us that he was after the sword because it was the power he desired, but did not realize that I had it. The other person was actually the man that I had fallen in love with at the age of eight. He was a traveling scholar, but he came upon the discovery of the phoenix, that it was indeed a true creature that still lived. He wanted to find this magnificent creature of fire, of rebirth and of the down that could bring the dead back to life.  
  
Later, he met with the spirit of the failed student of the first Kaiser Assassin. With promises to one another, he accepted the spirit willingly. They then became one.  
  
The spirit wanted the sword's power and the scholar wanted the phoenix. Then they figured out somehow that the sword was the phoenix. They wanted the sword and their desire became one as did the body and the spirit. They were one person now. Using a strange spell, they managed to make the sword take shape and become the phoenix. He used a spell to contain the phoenix. This magnificent beast was not used to being contained and could not escape, so Case and I used whatever power we had left to free it. It was hard, but we did it and the phoenix was free.  
  
The phoenix burned my former master's lackeys to ashes, but when it turned to my former master, I could not let it kill the man whom I had loved since childhood. The phoenix could not let him live though. Its mission was to destroy evil. I begged and begged the phoenix to let him live, it finally complied, but would only allow him to live for several minutes before he would die. I ran to him and held him in my arms as he died. He apologized to me and told me that he loved me.   
  
Imagine that! The man who I had loved, an evil one as others saw, was telling me that he had loved me! No, along the way, he had fallen for me and could not kill me. That was why I got away so many times. He died soon afterwards.   
  
How could I have let a great man like him die? I don't know. The phoenix then asked me if I wanted to make a wish. I was its priestess and so when awaken, I could make a wish, but I could not wish back the dead whose deaths were necessary for life to go on. I could not wish my former master back to life so what was I to do?   
  
I wished for the country to return to normal, before my former master had tainted it with his evil. The phoenix granted my wish and went back to its sleep. The country did return to the way it was before it became dark, but the Magik and Dragon Clan were to be remained in their graves.   
  
Case and I went to live on the countryside in solitude, but close to civilization. We laid down the swords and promised never to become what was once Crimson Moon and Shade as we started a new life together.   
  
We lived in peace and happiness for two years until one day, some unknown men came to the village near us and pillaged it. Case and I went to help, but I noticed that the way they acted were far different than those of bandits or thieves. They killed all men, women, elders and children so there were no survivors and they took no money with them.  
  
We fought most of them, but they were too much for us. The both of us had laid down the sword for two years and so picking it up was rather odd, but before we could get use to it, they killed Case in front of my eyes. His blood spilled to the ground and his body came after, lifeless... dead...   
  
I don't know what happened to me, I just snapped and became Crimson Moon again. I was cold, angry and gave no mercy to those that I slew, but even though I killed many, they kept coming and finally struck me down. They were somewhat lazy and did not check to see if I was still alive or dead.   
  
I was mortally wounded and weak and fell unconscious for a long time. When I had finally awoken, it had been four days since the slaughter. A wandering monk had buried the dead and brought me back to health, but I left the moment I got better. The monk bided me a safe journey and to not let my anger get to me or I would be no better than those who killed the villagers and my beloved Case.  
  
I followed rumors and my instincts on where the murderous men could be and ended up meeting up with the leader of the clan of the Lost Souls. He offered to help me find those murderers only if I helped to protect Shatura from its enemies. I accepted. One small price to pay to get what I wanted, revenge. I don't care about becoming Crimson Moon again. I don't mind being one of the most feared assassins in the world again. I just want my revenge..."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
I think I was holding onto my breath the entire time she spoke because my breath came out in a rush as I quickly inhaled a bunch of air back into my lungs.  
  
What a terrible life though, to live like that...   
  
Rune sighed and raised her slightly teary face to look at us all.  
  
"So, my lords, do you see any connections?" she asked, her voice on the verge of the breaking of a dam into rushing water.  
  
"...A little... Rune, you said that... the entire Dragon Clan was wiped out?" asked my uncle.  
  
A couple of tears slid down her cheeks. She nodded and bowed her head.  
  
"How... can it be?" asked Lord InuTaisho.  
  
"How can what be father?" asked Sesshoumaru.  
  
  
  
"The Dragon Clan was supposedly wiped out right? Well, how can that be if one of Naraku's henchmen is a Dragon Master?" wondered the king.  
  
Naraku? Where have I heard that name before?...  
  
Rune's head shot up, "Wh-what?!"  
  
The youkai lord looked at her, "There is still one living child. He is a dark one. Very solemn and serious. He isn't one to mess with or meet up with at all. Many of my best soldiers were killed single-handedly by that man. Now, unless there were some other Dragon Clan out there, this one seems to be genuine Dragon material."  
  
"But-that can't be! They were all massacred by my former master! He must be a fake or something because even the phoenix said that all those whose lives were necessary for the country to move on could not be reborn!" replied the eighteen-year old.  
  
"Well, maybe fate decided to have a change of plans. Even the phoenix cannot change fate," my uncle said.  
  
Fate?...  
  
Suddenly, a man in tattered clothes and broken armor ran into the room as if it were a matter of life or death.  
  
"Good grief man! What's happened to you?" asked the youkai lord.  
  
"My lord! Th-that dragon man! H-he's outside at the g-gates and k-killing all the soldiers!!! He demands to s-see you or he-he'll kill everyone!!!" the man practically screamed through pants.  
  
"He's here!!" exclaimed the king.  
  
Everyone gasped. Rune, however, rushed out of the room in a mad fury. She was pissed.  
  
"RUNE!!!" yelled Crimson Blade and I as we ran after her.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Be prepared for more like this o come. I need to give background info on Crimson Blade and some on Crimson Dream. Yes, they are connected so there is a point to all this. If you don't understand these chappies, just tell me and I will explain okies? It was kinda hard for me to figure out what to write. Okay, R & R please! Thank you! 


	12. Chapter Seventeen

Hi!!! I just wrote this today, all day. Hey, I was bored. My summer sucks so far. I need to do something or I will go crazy!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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Chapter Seventeen  
  
We saw Rune run past the doors to the outside, where the Dragon Man supposedly was. I pulled out my sword, ready for the worst. Crimson Blade did the same with her two crimson blades (AN: see why she's named Crimson Blade?) The moment we stepped outside, a bright flash of light flew across our eyes. We covered our eyes quickly. Where was Rune?  
  
"Rune!" I called her.  
  
The light faded away and I uncovered my eyes.  
  
There, standing with her hand up in the air with smoke rising from it, was Rune. Her face was flushed red with anger. Her eyes burned with hatred and almost looked at if they were red. Behind her, stood what was left of InuTaisho's army, bruised and badly beaten. Her hair seemed almost ablaze from the light of the noon sun.   
  
Was this the real Crimson Moon?  
  
I looked to where her eyes were directed. In the air, was he, the Dragon Master. His face was solemn and serious, like Sesshoumaru's always was. He wore black pants and black leather boots. His dark armor had broken to pieces beneath him and all that was left of his shirt were tattered and burnt on the ground from Rune, whatever she did. His hair was barely shoulder length, but dark black and his brown eyes held the same kind of deep darkness in color and feeling.  
  
What kept him aloft in the air though, were wings. They were like a dragon's wings, perhaps almost reptilian skin, but they were feathery. Behind him laid the many slain bodies of InuTaisho's soldiers. In his left hand was a sword, black as the night, but coated with the blood of the many that he had killed. It wasn't just his sword that was coated with blood. His whole body was stained with blood here and there. He was indeed a fearsome sight to behold.   
  
"You! You-you FAKE!!!! You DARE to show up before Crimson Moon in that stupid Dragon Master get-up!?" she practically screamed at him.  
  
He said nothing, but looked at her with the same expression on his face.  
  
"You bastard! Say something!!!!" she yelled at him again, but her voice was more shrill, kind of broken, almost as if she was going to cry.  
  
"... Woman, I have no quarrel with you... but if you have a death wish, I can grant that for you," he finally replied.  
  
She looked at him, tears were now streaming down her eyes, "You're not a Dragon Master. You can't be...you just can't-YOU CAN'T BE OF THE DRAGON CLAN!!!!"  
  
Suddenly, the wind started to swirl around her wildly and she screamed. The soldiers behind her retreated farther back from her as the wind spread farther and farther, blowing dust and other things into the faces of the soldiers. I covered myself from all UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and made my way as fast as I could towards her without being pulled into the air along with the wind.  
  
The Dragon guy though, seemed untouched and not worried from this erratic display of behavior.  
  
"We have to stop her or she may go out of control!" Crimson Blade shouted to me.  
  
She was at my side, covering her face from the UFOs as well.  
  
"I didn't know that she had this kind of power! I thought she was just like me, all skill, but no magical power!" I shouted back to her.  
  
She looked at me, "Well, you're wrong...I didn't know that she had the same power!.. like me..."  
  
I didn't hear the last part, "What was that!?"  
  
"Nothing!" she replied, "hey! He's getting ready to attack her! You go to her, I'll hold him off!"  
  
He had raised his sword and started to charge at her.  
  
I nodded and ran to Rune, but Crimson Blade stopped me, "Wait! I'll go to her! You stop him!"  
  
"Okay!" I shouted and readied my blade for a battle.  
  
"KAGOME!" a masculine voice called to me, but I couldn't identify or see whom it was that called.  
  
Rune's safety was more important at the moment so I couldn't worry about myself.   
  
The Dragon guy was getting closer.  
  
'Oh no you don't!'  
  
I stopped in front of him and deflected his attack. He flew back a few yards. I noticed that the wind had begun to recede from its wild state. Crimson Blade had gotten to her in time.  
  
"You must be Crimson Dream by your style of handling a sword," he said.  
  
I raised my sword to attack position, "You come at her again and I swear on the lives of those you've killed, I will make your death a long and painful one!"  
  
He closed his eyes and inhaled. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and I gasped, they became dark black, murky and cold.  
  
'What?'  
  
He came at me at full force, taking me by surprise. Luckily, I blocked in time, barely, and jumped to the side. He was quicker though, and backhanded me with his hand that held the sword. I was pushed back very far by the impact and fell. A trickle of blood flowed down from the corner of my now bruised mouth.  
  
I wiped it off with the back of my hand, but he was, again, too quick for me and flew at me with sword ready to swing to chop my head off.  
  
"I claim your life!" he yelled.  
  
I pushed my sword upwards just in time as he swung. My blade hit his and the sharp end flipped ninety degrees so what came in contact with my bruised cheek was the flat side, which still hurt, a lot. I went rolling several yards very quickly from it until I managed to push my hand into the ground and flip myself to my feet. More blood flowed out.  
  
He suddenly appeared at my side and kicked me VERY hard on my right side and I think a few of my rib bones cracked. I went flying again, but he got in front of me again and upper punched me into the sky before I could react. I was in pain and couldn't even lift a finger. So when he appeared above me with the sword's sharp end pointed at me, I close my eyes and hoped that the pain was quick enough so that I wouldn't feel the full barrage of the hurt in tow...  
  
It never came.  
  
I heard a clank and two strong arms wrapped around me firmly enough to make me scream out in pain. I opened my eyes just as my rescuer landed on the ground next to where my uncle was.  
  
"Kagome! Kagome!" my uncle called my name in desperation when my eyes started to close again.  
  
"Be careful with her. I think her ribs may be broken," said my rescuer.  
  
"S..Sess-" I started to say, but he was gone.  
  
I heard another clank and my eyes snapped open.  
  
Sesshoumaru was fighting with the Dragon guy on the ground and Crimson Blade was helping him fight. The wings were now gone.  
  
Sesshoumaru swiped at his head with his claws, but the guy blocked it with his sword. The two could not overpower the other's weapon.  
  
"Prince Sesshoumaru, I am ordered to kill you," said the man.  
  
"Is that so?" he scoffed in return.  
  
Crimson Blade then came in with her two swords. She brought one sword down in between the two and they both jumped back. She quickly swung the other sword, but he deflected it and flipped backwards as she tried to recover her wits.  
  
"Woman! You are too slow! Retreat now and let me handle this!" Sesshoumaru told her.  
  
"No, I have to do what I am supposed to do," she countered and jumped forward towards the Dragon guy.  
  
She had her swords ready to do a cross-slash, but he fitted his sword with ease between her two swords where the one sword intersected with the other and pulled backwards towards him with great force. The force of that caused her swords to part for a moment, but that was all the time he needed. He stabbed the sword into her left shoulder. She screamed out in pain. Her swords fell from her hands. He pulled the sword out and one of his hands became a fist.  
  
"No!" I shouted.  
  
He then punched her above her chest and sent her flying into Sesshoumaru. He caught her with ease. Blood began pouring out her shoulder. She coughed and blood spilled for her lips.  
  
"Woman, leave this to me. You are in no condition to fight," he scolded her.  
  
"No, I can do this. I-" she started.  
  
He cut her off, "No! For your sake and the one who's life you hold in your hands, I will not allow you to continue on any longer."  
  
She looked up at him with a stunned look, "H-how did you know?"  
  
"I am youkai and prince. I know everything," he grunted out the answer and pushed her to us.   
  
InuTaisho caught her as Sesshoumaru and the Dragon man duked it out.  
  
"Crimson Blade!" my uncle called her.  
  
She coughed and blood spattered all over. My uncle ripped a piece of cloth from his undershirt and wrapped it around her wound.  
  
"Where's Rune?" I asked her.  
  
"Wi-with th-the sol..diers..." she managed to say through the pain.  
  
CLANK!   
  
My attention then turned back to Sesshoumaru. Their weapons had clashed and sparks flew. Sesshoumaru had finally drawn his sword. Sesshoumaru then lunged forward at top speed and tackled the man to the ground. Caught by surprised, he recovered his wits just as Sesshoumaru had the sword at his throat.  
  
"You have a fine blade prince, but you cannot kill me with that," stated the dark opponent.  
  
"What? What does he mean by that my lord?" I choked out.  
  
InuTaisho sighed, "That sword... it does not kill."  
  
"What... What do you mean?" I asked in a clearer voice.  
  
"It cannot kill. I gave it to Sesshoumaru to mend his cold heart. I did not think that he would need a blade that kills for this moment."  
  
'And it will be his undoing...'  
  
The Dragon guy grabbed the sword suddenly from Sesshoumaru's hands and pulled it away. Sesshoumaru fell forward just as the enemy grabbed his sword and stabbed it through his stomach.  
  
Whatever I felt for him, hit me all at once. Whether it was because he was my comfort or whatever, I screamed.  
  
"SESSHOUMARU!!!!"  
  
He looked dumbfounded at his predicament. He looked at the sword that had run him through and the person who held it and repeated this process for a couple more times as if he didn't believe it.  
  
"..." the enemy was silent.  
  
Sesshoumaru stepped back from the man on the ground and looked at the sword in him once again as if to see if it was real or not.  
  
"Sesshoumaru!!!!" I screamed.  
  
I ignored the pain that now coursed through my whole body that erupted from that.  
  
He looked at me and whispered, "I'm sorry."  
  
He fell to the ground and did not stir.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Sesshoumaru had fallen. Defeated by the fallen angel...   
  
The wingless man pulled his sword from Sesshoumaru's body and walked several yards away to pray for the dead.  
  
I still couldn't believe it. The almighty Sesshoumaru was down for the count and there was nothing I could do... Well, yes there was something I could do. I could go and kick the other guy's ass!  
  
Despite the pain, I fiddled around in my small pouch for something. Everyone was shocked and paralyzed by what had happened, but I had a drive to kill the guy who killed Sesshoumaru. I finally found it and prayed to the Twin Gods of Shatura that what I was doing wouldn't make me regret it later.   
  
I popped a bunch of the paaj-ua-zoos into my mouth, chewed and swallowed.  
  
'Only a few more seconds until it takes effect...'  
  
"I can't believe this... Sesshoumaru..." said his father.  
  
My uncle turned to the youkai lord and spoke, "My lord, I-KAGOME!"  
  
Everyone soon looked at me. I had gotten up and was walking on my own two feet to where Sesshoumaru laid. I was numb, but hey-at least it didn't hurt... physically anyway.  
  
I knelt down by his lifeless body. A tear suddenly fell on his smooth and perfect skin. Where did that come from? I then noticed that it was from me.  
  
What was supposed to be sadness and heartache fueled into something more dangerous and lethal, at least for the person who I would kill. Hatred and anger spurn me from the girl Kagome to the assassin Crimson Dream.  
  
The Dragon Master finished his prayers for the dead and then turned to look at me.  
  
"I hope you finished your prayers cause it'll take God more than that to accept you into heaven once I send you to hell!!!" I spat at him.  
  
I pulled out my sword and got into attack position.  
  
He only looked at me with his calm, but serious complexion.  
  
"Angel of Destruction indeed..." he mumbled.  
  
'Whom was he talking to?'  
  
I rushed forward madly and blindly. I didn't care about what would happen to me, just as long as I got a hit on him, even a minor flesh wound or a nick. It didn't matter to me anymore...  
  
He didn't even bother to raise his blade. Once I got close enough, his wings sprouted out from his back and he rose to the air as I came to a stop beneath him.  
  
"Your heart blinds your coordination woman. There is no need to shed your blood as well... for now. Your boyfriend lays dead. You should tend to his body before any wandering and mindless youkai comes by to consume it," he said to me.  
  
"He's not my boyfriend!" I countered him.  
  
He just looked at me like I was nothing and started to fly off.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" I said and ran after him, jumping on whatever I came across to get me up higher.  
  
"Kagome! Stop!" my uncle called me.  
  
I ignored him and continued on, but I tripped and fell.  
  
He stopped and gave me a look and continued to fly on.  
  
"No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-NO!" I screamed.  
  
Suddenly, I noticed that one of the soldiers had a bow and one arrow left. I grabbed them from his hands.  
  
"Hey!" he shouted.  
  
I ignored him as I notched the arrow and aimed.  
  
'It's now or never.'  
  
I closed my eyes and let the arrow fly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
I finished this at 11:00 pm central standard time. My butt hurts a lot from the bike ride earlier today and I'm very tired. I stay up wayyyyyyyyyy too late, I need to get some sleep or I will go crazy. Okies, R & R! (^_^) 


	13. Chapter Eighteen

Right now, it's 1:30 CST. I'm tired... (-_-) - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz...  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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Chapter Eighteen  
  
"Kagome... Higurashi? You wouldn't happen to be related to the great priestess Midoriko?" the young man asked me.  
  
"Unfortunately... yes..." answered I.  
  
He continued on, "Then, surely you must hold the powers of the great priestess within you?"  
  
I sighed, "I don't know if I do or not, but even if I do, they are dormant and I have not had priestess training so I can't use it. Even if I did, it'd probably kill me," I replied.  
  
"Well, if you come with me, then I'd surely ask father to hire a priest or priestess to train you," said the young man.  
  
"I don't know about that. I mean, I have other things to do so I don't know if I have time to train at all. Plus, I'm too old to train anyways. Don't you have to be trained when you're a young child?"  
  
"Yes," said he, "but I'm sure you'll do just fine Kagome. I know you will."  
  
I smiled at him, "Thanks. Well, you know, I actually think that I may have one of the miko's powers that I've been training myself on."  
  
"Oh really? What's that?" he asked.  
  
"Well, when I shoot an arrow, I can kind of tell it where to go, you know? It's odd, but I can hit a bull's eye nine out of ten times and I've only jut begun recently!"  
  
His eyes lit up, "Oh wow! That's amazing though, Kagome! I had to practice archery since I was a small child. It took me years, but I'm finally hitting a bull's eye ten out of ten! Pretty soon, you'll be able to hit it ten out of ten!"  
  
I, again, smiled at him, "I guess."  
  
"No, you will, I know you will Kagome!" he smiled back at me.  
  
I liked this boy, but we would no longer be children in front of one another in a couple of years...  
  
******************************************************************  
  
"It's now or never."  
  
I closed my eyes and let the arrow fly.  
  
What I got in return was an agonizing, unearthly cry as two creatures came down to the earth from the one I shot at.  
  
'What the...?'  
  
I ran forward, leaving far behind the others and saw that there were two figures; one which looked to be a human and another that shielded the human was a... black dragon!?  
  
'Oh right! Rune said that Dragon Masters use their dragons to fuse! Shit!'  
  
I looked back to the soldiers who had followed me.   
  
"Go back! Go back!!!" I shouted to them.  
  
They then noticed the dragon and started to run back as it opened its huge jaws. Larges flames danced around its mouth and then fire spread from its mouth to where we were a moment ago.   
  
"Hurry!" I yelled at them, but they weren't fast enough.  
  
As the flames began to dance closer to me, I jumped out of the way and the men before me were toasted. I was lucky to be at the very far edge because if I weren't, I would have been fried along with the rest.  
  
"Dammit!" I swore.  
  
"Kagome!" my uncle called me again.   
  
They were coming after me.  
  
"No! Don't come! There's a fire-breathing dragon here!!!" I yelled to them.  
  
They stopped where they were, but one person didn't.  
  
"Rune! Go back!" I shouted.  
  
She ignored me and continued on towards the two. The dragon began its mouth-of-flames show again, but stopped when it looked at her again.  
  
'Huh?'  
  
"This can't be," Rune breathed, "they died, all of them..."  
  
"Not...all of them..." spoke another.  
  
The injured man then got up. He looked the same as the Dragon Master, but as another man, he looked like... another man. His hair was golden brown and his eyes were just brown.  
  
I noticed that my arrow had pierced him through in the leg. He broke off the arrowhead and pulled the rest out.  
  
As he bandaged his leg he looked at Rune, "You seem to know of the Dragon Clan... Yes, they did get wiped out, but I am the sole survivor. I have no memories of my past, but I know that I am of the Dragon Clan and I serve the man who saved me with the utmost loyalty..."  
  
He finished bandaging his leg and looked at his dragon that puffed out a cloud of smoke. Suddenly, they started to glow and a bright flash of light engulfed the area, but then faded away after a few minutes to reveal the same person I was fighting before.  
  
"So... if it is your death wish that you seek my lady, I will grant your heart's deepest desire then," he said and took out his dark sword.  
  
Rune seemed to be on the edge of tears again and bowed her head, waiting for her final moment. I started for her, but suddenly, I fell and could not move as the pain that had been numbed returned. I worked myself too hard and so it went through my system to quickly. My body was paralyzed and I could not move even a finger.  
  
'Rune!'  
  
The Dragon man threw the sword at her, controlling its speed and direction with his power.  
  
Just when the sword came close enough for thereto be no one to save her and live too, the youkai lord pushed her out of the way and the sword ran through his heart instead.  
  
"Lord InuTaisho!" Rune screamed.  
  
It all seemed to be in slow mo. Lord InuTaisho fell to his knees, clutching onto the sword that was beginning to be covered by his own blood. He looked at it once more, then to all of us. He inhaled. He exhaled. Then he fell forward with one more breath. The impact with the ground made him lose his last breath and he died.  
  
"Lord InuTaisho!" screamed Rune again.  
  
She knelt by the youkai lord's side and started to shake him. I looked from Rune to the Dragon man. He had flown away already towards the setting sun in the horizon. I looked back at the dead king. Rune was inhaling and exhaling irregularly, but closed the dead eyes of the youkai king. She crawled back several feet and bowed to the king and didn't lift her head off the ground after the third time.  
  
"Kagome! Rune!"  
  
I was getting tired. The pain was too much, I could also feel my system begin to shut down. Was I going to die? I knew that I shouldn't have taken too much of the paaj-ua-zoo because I almost got killed the first time I took too much of it.  
  
'Is this... the end?...'  
  
People started to swarm over the bodies of the dead, the dead king, Rune and myself. My uncle told me to keep my eyes open, but I could barely hear him now, much less see him. Rune still stayed in he position as others tried to get her up, but she was staring to fade out. Everyone was starting to fade out...  
  
"Don't leave me alone! Please!.."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Something was itching me-no it was bothering me. What the hell?... What was that annoying pricking feeling?  
  
I tried to move or flick it off, but my body was sore and if I moved, it hurt. So, I let the annoying things keep going.  
  
'Am I in hell? Damn, is hell this annoying?'  
  
My eyes started to open and a dark, but candlelit room met my sight. Well, a certain little something met my sight too. Despite my arm being sore, my hand slid up close to the little annoying thing that had woke me up.  
  
'That's right little man, you're not getting away from me...'  
  
I decided to take my chance. My hand shot up and grabbed whatever it was that was pricking on my nose.   
  
"Mmpf!!!" came a small noise from inside my hand.  
  
  
  
"Serves-" I croaked.  
  
'Wha...? My voice hasn't recovered yet? Oh well...'  
  
"Serves you right, Myouga," I croaked.  
  
My hand unwrapped the flea servant of Lord InuTaisho and Inuyasha.  
  
"Miss Kagome! What a surprise! And here I thought that I was having a tasty little feast on some other pretty maid's nose!" he exclaimed.  
  
'Whatever...'  
  
"Myouga," I croaked again and cleared my throat, "Lord... InuTaisho... Is he...?"  
  
I was hoping that it wouldn't be true, but...  
  
Myouga sat down on my hand and sighed, "Miss Kagome, he is dead. For almost a week now."  
  
'A week!? I've been asleep for a week!?'  
  
"And... Sesshou...Sesshoumaru?" I whispered.  
  
"My lady-" he then stopped.  
  
"What? Myouga, what is it?" I asked him.  
  
Myouga looked around then turned back to me, "Miss Kagome, I am very sorry, but I must take my leave. The new Lord of Shatura will be angry if he knew that I was in here with you when he forbade none to enter."  
  
  
  
"...What?" I mumbled.  
  
He jumped off my hand and disappeared.  
  
'New Lord of Shatura?.. Was it Inuyasha?... No, he didn't want Shatura, it was too big of a responsibility for him and he wanted to be alone in solitude with his woman... Unfortunately, I'm not the woman he wants to be with...   
  
  
  
So... who could it be?...'  
  
The doors to the room opened and the visitor came in.  
  
"Who...who's there?" my voice croaked again.  
  
"...The paaj-ua-zoo must have done worst to you than what we originally thought," replied the speaker.  
  
Hearing his voice made my heart skip a beat. A tear slid down my cheek.  
  
"...Sess...Sesshou...maru?" I whispered, secretly hoping that it was he.  
  
"...Get some rest Kagome... you'll need it..." he replied.  
  
He left. There was a squeak, or at least I thought I heard a squeak, but I fell asleep soon after thinking that it was nothing dangerous.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So... You've killed the king have you now?" Naraku asked.  
  
Before him stood the Dragon man, fully garbed in his Dragon Knight armor and bowing.  
  
He lifted his head, "Yes my lord. I know that you wished something else of me, but he got in the way and so I... I am sorry my lord."  
  
Naraku smirked, "No, that'll do Ser. Although Sesshoumaru lives and is now king, it matters not. He will not be king for long. You may leave."  
  
"My lord..." he bowed and left.  
  
"Aren't you going to punish him?" his bandit cousin Onigumo asked.  
  
Naraku sighed, "No. He's too good to have anything happen to him. Besides, he's an important player in my plans."  
  
Onigumo raised an eyebrow, "Eh? Just like Prince Daleus and Princess Anala huh?"  
  
Naraku blinked and smiled, "My, my, dear cousin. What a brilliant mind you have there. Yes, they are my pawns. The same as Celuruse and Delaruse. The kings there are too angry with Shatura to know what to think. That's why I'm their most trusted servant, Onigumo."  
  
Onigumo scratched his head, "Hmm! You sure know how to play your cards cuz!"  
  
"I always do," he told him, "now leave, I require a moment alone."  
  
"Geez, touchy, touchy. No wonder why you're still single," Onigumo joked and left.  
  
Naraku smirked. That wasn't true. He had been with many women, even married a couple of them, but they weren't worth much, probably good for a few nights, but he soon lost his interest in them, even with the whores or innocent maidens he came across.   
  
Now, there was only one woman who dominated his thoughts every second of every day. He dreamt nightly of the day he would bed her and take her as many times as he wanted whether it was night or day.  
  
He looked at his mirror again and grinned a dark smile, "Show me... her."  
  
The mirror began to fog up. After a few seconds, it started to reveal a sleeping girl in bed. Her hair was no longer green like before, but that was because she had been asleep all that time. Her patch was gone, but he enjoyed looking at her fair skin even more. Her red cape was gone, but he liked looking at her curves and body. It was much better than imagining it.  
  
Gods! He wanted her so bad. He could just as easily sneak into her room in the middle of the night and take her there, but he knew that he things to take care of before he could.  
  
"Sleep tight my Kagome... Because you'll be sleeping tight in my arms or rather, seeking pleasure there when I'm done. Sweet dreams..." he grinned darkly.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
I tried to write action in this one and the one before, but when you're tired and sleepy, you tend to go a little off board. I do that A LOT!!! If there are any grammar or spelling problems, please don't tell me. When I'm bored or sleepy, I never get anything right. R & R! (^_^) 


	14. Chapter Nineteen

Okies, so I spent a long vacation off of this story... SORRY!!!! I had many things to deal with recently and work is killing me so I'm very sorry!!! I'm gonna try to finish this story before summer so cross your fingers and pray to god (or whatever gods you worship, I'm not Christian so god don't count for me)  
  
that I get his story done!!! Anyways... read on!  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Look! The stars are soooooooooo pretty!" I exclaimed, taking in the breath-taking sight of the stars twinkling in the dark sky.  
  
The person next to me said nothing. Slightly disappointed, I turned to him. His face was expressionless, but his eyes told all. He turned to face me.   
  
I smiled at him.  
  
"Did you know that if you see a shooting star and make a wish, it'd come true?" I asked him in my all-knowing-yet-childish voice.  
  
After thinking about it for a few seconds, he shook his head.  
  
"Well, my Auntie Himiko told me about that and whatever she says is always right!" I smiled at him once more.  
  
He nodded at me, a slight, barely visible smile gracing his features. Suddenly, something bright but small in the sky caught my eye. My hand rushed forward and my finger pointed to the spot where I caught sight of it.  
  
"There! A falling star!" exclaimed I.  
  
"Make a wish Kagome. I've already made mine," he told me.  
  
"Right!" I spoke loudly.  
  
My eyes squeezed shut and hands went together. I frantically searched for the wish that I had been waiting to wish for in my mind. Once done, I opened my eyes to see him looking up to the skies once again.  
  
"So, what happens after you make a wish?" he asked me.  
  
"You keep it to yourself, don't tell anyone or it won't come true!" I told him.  
  
He looked at me again, the small smile from before came back, but was wider than before.  
  
"I'll make sure not to," he smirked, telling me that I just missed out on something spectacular and great.  
  
"Aw! Tell me! Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme!!!!!" I begged him.  
  
"Nuh-uh! Whatever your aunt told you has to be true so you'll have to wait till it happens!" he laughed.  
  
I pouted at him and began to knock him into submission, but unfortunately, he was too fast.  
  
"No fair!!!" I yelled at him from across the distance.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter Nineteen  
  
"His majesty was a good man," I spoke to the other person.  
  
I was outside in the night air on the balcony of my room. The new King of Shatura stood next to me and I leaned on the railing more to look at him. Although he was a pale person, he glowed radiantly with royalness (AN: Is that even a word? Oh well, who cares, continue on! (^_^)) and power in the dark of the night.  
  
"Yes...I know he was..." he said, looking up into the starry sky.  
  
I had finally awoken yesterday and today was the day of his majesty's funeral. The services were long and grueling, but we held up to show our respects to the king. The people of Shatura had crowded the streets while we, the Lost Souls clan and the other two Crimson Lotus hid in the shadows so as to not bring attentions to ourselves, but we stuck by the shadows just in case somebody had other motives to dethrone the new king.  
  
It was also the crowning of the new king. Although the new king was not of the Shaturan blood, he was eligible to be the leader because he was of royal blood to the previous king.   
  
I continued on, "Sesshoumaru... Your father... He was kind to us... Although the people of Shatura would not accept us, he allowed us to stay. He... He was trying to help us back into our home country and for that, we are eternally grateful to him... Sesshoumaru-"  
  
"I will allow you to stay and fight for Shatura, but I do not intend to stay king for long," he finished.  
  
I felt as if I had been torn to pieces the moment he ended.  
  
I looked down from him with sadness engulfing my entire being, "Oh... Okay..."  
  
'So... we would be casted out again... What would I tell uncle? My people?'  
  
"Kagome," he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.  
  
"Y-yes?"  
  
One of his hands went on the railings and he looked down from the sky with a sigh.  
  
He then looked at me, "Why do you continue to fight for a country that you never even lived in?"  
  
I looked at him for a few seconds, then spoke, "Because, your highness, that is what my people desire, to become one with Shatura again. We have been driven out, but we still love our home country and long to settle on her earth once again. I fight for them, my lord, they want a home to come return..."  
  
His eyes twitched as if unsatisfied with my answer, "That is not what I meant..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
His gaze went back among the stars, "You say that you are Shaturan, or at least in a sense, you are Shaturan, but you are not from Shatura nor are you descended from one of its children... Where are you from?"  
  
My head laid down on the railing on my hands, "To tell you the truth my lord, I don't know..."  
  
"...And your uncle? Why have you not asked him?" he asked me.  
  
I was silent.  
  
"When he returns from his trip, you should ask him."  
  
I looked at him, "Uncle... left? When? Where?"  
  
"Just after the coronation and on an errand he had to oversee. He will return, but he told me to tell you that you are in charge, as you had been at the beginning..."  
  
I placed my head back down on the railing.  
  
"But... you should ask him... Why do you not ask him? He knows more about your ancestry than you do yourself," he continued.  
  
"...Because... I am afraid to know where I am from..." I whispered.  
  
Alas, even whispered words cannot escape the ears of a youkai...  
  
"You must never fear where you are from Kagome. Take what you have and what you know and you must build yourself a legacy. Although you may not know where you are from, you must continue on from where you at currently..." he told me and began to walk inside.  
  
I made no move as to follow after or continue on our conversation, but he finished it for us both.  
  
His footsteps stopped, "...Only then will you gain the strength to search for your answers to your past..."  
  
His footsteps then continued.  
  
I suddenly turned around and called, "...Sesshoumaru!"   
  
He was gone.  
  
A streak of bright light in the dark sky caught my eye, but then, it was gone, just like Sesshoumaru had come and gone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
I went to sleep, hoping to fall asleep the instant I laid down and closed my eyes, but sleep never claimed me.  
  
"Take what you have and what you know and you must build yourself a legacy..." I heard Sesshoumaru's voice speak in my head.  
  
'Legacy...'  
  
"...Only then will you gain the strength to search for your answers to your past..." finished the Sesshoumaru voice in my mind.  
  
"Answers to my past huh?..." I chuckled jokingly to myself, "that... WOMAN... was my past... I don't want to know her background..."  
  
I turned over and listened to the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped. Owls hooted. Weird grunting noises were heard outside my open window... Female and male giggling from some other room nearby-wait... Grunting noises outside my window!?  
  
I quickly got up and looked out my window to see Rune jump on the ground from her rope made of blankets tied together. She looked around for a bit then ran off.  
  
'Where's she off to at this time of the night?'  
  
I dressed up in my dark ninja outfit to sneak out into the night silently and hastily. I slung my sword over my shoulder as I went out my window and slid down Rune's well-thought-out-and-made rope.  
  
I looked around for any people who could see me. All the patrols looked tired or busy, I could sneak out more easily.  
  
I crouched down low and moved with efficient speed so as to catch up with Rune, but also to be as silent as possible so she wouldn't know that I was following her. I followed her as she sneaked out of the castle grounds, down the dark alleyways of the cities and into the forests just outside the town.  
  
'What in the world would is she doing way out here?'  
  
Each time she looked behind, I ducked and she would continue on a moment later. I don't know how long it took, but she finally stopped at a clearing by a small spring that was well covered by the trees above and around.  
  
'Hey! This is the small spring that Souta and I used to come to when we were little, but we stopped after I went through puberty...'  
  
I moved along deeper into the bushes making as little sound as possible. I then stopped at a place that gave me a good view of her and good cover for me for anyone who would enter the clearing.  
  
She paced around impatiently, as if she were waiting for someone. Who was she waiting for?  
  
"I am sorry for my tardiness, Miss," a voice suddenly caught our attentions.  
  
A dark figure emerged from the shadows. It was the Dragon Man his normal human form! My hands almost went to my sword, but I stopped myself or both Rune and the person would sense my alertness and know that I was there spying on them.  
  
"Did you wait long?" asked the man.  
  
She looked at him for a moment then shook her head. She didn't seem surprised at all to see him. Did she come here just to meet with him?  
  
"Raph had trouble evading the eyes of our lord to get here," he explained.  
  
Rune suddenly went tense and her hands flew to her sword.  
  
"Naraku!? Is this a trap!?" she questioned him.  
  
He shook his head with his hands in the air, "No Miss, as I have stated in the letter, this is not a trap. I am here on neutral terms. I am here for ME, not for my master."  
  
'Letter?...'  
  
Her eyes narrowed in on him, but her alertness flew out the window as she relaxed and removed her hands from her weapon.  
  
"Then, what am I here for? Are you trying to bait me out here so that I can be kidnapped by you or to duel you?" she asked with harshness in her voice.  
  
He sighed and he looked down, "No, those are not my reasons Miss."  
  
"Stop calling me Miss! I have a name and it isn't Miss!" she snapped at him.  
  
His head went up, "I am sorry Miss- I mean... What is your name then if you do not wish me to call you Miss?"  
  
She hesitated for a bit then answered, "Rune..."  
  
"Rune... What an interesting name..."  
  
"Just cut to the chase will you? I'm not here for pleasant talk!" she snarled at him.  
  
"If you say so Miss Rune."  
  
She rolled her eyes and turned away, crossing her arms from annoyance.  
  
"I am here... because I want to know... about my people..." he said, his voice serious and unemotional.  
  
Rune looked back at him, "You what? You are of the Dragon Clan. You should know about them."  
  
He sighed, "Sadly Miss Rune... I cannot remember them. All I know is that I am of the Dragon Clan, I am the only surviving member of that clan and that I am the only one who does not know anything about who I am. I am like a small lost child who wants answers to the questions of life."  
  
Her arms uncrossed the moment he finished his sentence. A look of pity washed over her face for a second, but he was able to catch that one second of the pity she felt for him.  
  
"Please... don't give me any of that Miss Rune. I want answers... that's all I want. Can you just give me that and nothing more? I have no need for petty emotions such as pity..."  
  
Her mouth went into a straight line. Her face was too confusing to tell what she was feeling at the moment.  
  
"...What is your name?" she asked him, taking him by surprise.  
  
"...Ser, Miss Rune..." answered he.  
  
"...The Dragon Clan were powerful people... Witty and clever. They were headstrong and honorable. They were quiet and peaceful people, but even though they were one of the strongest people on the planet, they isolated themselves from the outside world so many people did not know of their existence. I, for one, still don't know much about them," she said.  
  
"But, you were the last of whom had interacted with them, weren't you?"  
  
"Yes, I guess you can say that. I did interact with them before... before they were wiped out..."  
  
"..." he was silent.  
  
"I admired them though, they were courageous people and willful to a fault. They were protective of their own people and dragons. It was the dragons, the children and the elderly that were to be protected more than their own lives. Men and women fought alongside one another and risked their own lives to save those more vulnerable than they... Even those not of the clan..." she said, smiling a little from the last things she said.  
  
"So... That's how they were..."  
  
"I was close to one of them... His name was...no, his name isn't important... He was a nice man, kind and gentle, a man of honor, morals and great virtues. It seemed like no one could hit him down. He was powerful... He would have gotten stronger if he... If he hadn't laid down the sword..." she spoke as if she were in a trance.  
  
'Is she... Is she talking about Case?'  
  
"...And... Is this man still alive?" asked Ser.  
  
She broke out of her trance and replied, her voice barely keeping together, "No. He died trying to protect a small village from being pillaged by bandits, but... we failed..."  
  
'She is speaking of Case!'  
  
"An utter waste of time Miss Rune. The village was bound to be plundered and destroyed if they did not have strong warriors there," he scoffed.  
  
A couple of tears ran down her face, "Not everyone is as strong as you Case! Not everyone has the strength and power that you possess! Not everyone is like you!"  
  
She turned away as her hands went up to her face.  
  
'Poor Rune...'  
  
Ser tilted his head to the side a bit, and then went up to her. He turned her around and pulled her hands down from her face. She looked up at him, tears still running down, but pain and anger still apparent upon her facial features.  
  
His hands went up to brush her tears away. He cupped her face in his hands and moved his head closer to hers, but stopped a few inches away. Her pain and anger dissipated.   
  
"...I remind you of someone don't I?" he said.  
  
Anger flashed back in and she pushed him back.  
  
"Leave! Go away! I was never here! We never met tonight! Next time we meet, you're my enemy and mincemeat!" she screamed at him.  
  
She turned around quickly and ran into the forest's darkness. He stood, looking after her retreating figure and stood even longer after she was no longer visible.  
  
"Raph," he finally spoke.  
  
Something large, almost lizard-like emerged from the shadows. Ser raised his arm and it snaked its head underneath his arm.  
  
'It's a... DRAGON!!!??? Whoa! He sure is big!'  
  
"She's a strange one, isn't she?" Ser said to his dragon.  
  
It closed its eyes and seemed to nod its head.  
  
"She called me Case... But why..." he started but stopped.  
  
He combed his hair back with his other hand and leaned back into his dragon's long neck with a deep sigh. Raph opened its eyes and looked at him. Ser looked at him as if they were communicating.  
  
'Of course! They're partners! Only someone of the Dragon Clan's gotta know how to speak with his dragon!'  
  
"...What Raph? You... like her?" an amazed expression plastered itself on his face.  
  
The dragon seemed to smile at that.  
  
He sighed, "Whatever Raph. I don't care what you say, that cannot be true-no, it's not true at all so don't start getting ideas about us."  
  
A deep and low noise came from the dragon, as if it was chuckling.  
  
"Stop teasing me Raph. Let's go before master finds out," he told it and jumped on the dragon. They then disappeared into the forest.  
  
'I gotta get going to...'  
  
A moment later, a big breeze swept past me as I made my own getaway. I looked up to the sky and saw Ser and his dragon take off into the distance.  
  
'Who are you Ser? Who does Rune see in you?..'  
  
I made my way back to the castle and sneaked in the way I came in, only more cautious because the guard from before had switched to another. The rope from Rune's room was no longer there.  
  
'Damn... I gotta take the kitchen then... Oh well, I'll say I couldn't sleep and had to take a midnight stroll in the gardens... in my ninja outfit...so I wouldn't attract too much attention!.. Well, it's a little weird, but it is kinda true...'  
  
I walked around a corner that would lead to the kitchen door, but was stopped at the sight of a person who looked battered and beaten by the look of his torn and bloody clothes. He looked to be near unconsciousness. I rushed immediately to his side.  
  
"Inuyasha! Wha-what happened to you!? Wait! Questions later! Let me help you-"  
  
He suddenly pulled me down into an embrace, a I'll-never-let-you-go kind of embrace.  
  
"What? Inuyasha..."  
  
My shoulder soon felt wet because that was where his head had buried itself. Was he...crying?  
  
A whisper that was barely audible, but found its way to my ears put me into confusion.  
  
"Kikyo..."  
  
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Ah screw the this-is-a-really-long-page thing! I must get this done before summer's over cause I got a whole load of other stories to do!!!! Okies, R&R! 


	15. Chapter Twenty

I'M SO VERY SORRY!!!! I BROKE MY PROMISE AND I'M SO VERY SORRY!!!! I DIDN'T LIE TO YOU, BUT I WAS BUSY (ODDLY ENOUGH FOR THE SUMMER) AND THE VIRUS THING HAD ME BE KICKED OFF THE NET FOR A WHILE (FROM MY BROTHER, NOT THE VIRUS)! I am trying to finish up my story and it is pretty long. I got a couple more chapters that I was able to do after this one so keep reading! Okay, I really promise to get this done before the year is over okies? I know that it'll definitely be done before then. To all loyal (and patient) readers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
"Ne, Souta?" I asked him.  
  
"Hai Kagome-nechan?"  
  
"Did you read that book that I told you to read?" I asked him.  
  
He started to scratch his head and replied, "Uh... Well, I started to but I keep falling asleep."  
  
"Souta!"  
  
"But Kagome! It's so boring! I can barely keep my eyes open the first few words!" he complained.  
  
"Souta! You know that you have to read that book! You're the next leader of the Lost Souls! The history and stories of our clan is vital to the knowledge and wisdom of our future leader!" I scolded him.  
  
"But Kagome! I don't wanna know what you've told me about already! It sounds cooler when you tell me about the history and stories than that stupid book does!" he defended himself.  
  
"Souta, I read that book too! So did you mom and dad and the leader before you and the ones before him! You're the last one of the line our ancestor prince!"  
  
"Demo... Kagome-nechan... Why can't you be the next leader? You know more than me and I don't know how to be a leader like you and daddy," he whined.  
  
"Don't whine Souta. Leaders don't whine," I told him.  
  
"Sorry," he pouted and looked sadly at the floor.  
  
I sighed and put on a smile, "Souta... I can't be leader because I... I'm only related to you through uncle, your dad. Your mom is the one who carries the blood of the ancestor prince, not your dad or me. So you, you will become the greatest leader of the Lost Souls clan and I will be there by your side to help you whenever you need me..."  
  
Souta looked up at me and smiled back, the fear of leadership dissipating from his mind, "So you'll be with me?... Ok, I'll be leader Kagome! I'll be the best there ever was for our clan!"  
  
I smiled, "Yes, you will be the best."  
  
The smile suddenly disappeared form his face, "But er... I have to read that book don't I?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Darn..."  
  
"But!" he looked at me as I winked at him, "I'll help you."  
  
His face brightened up and I smiled at him.  
  
"Thanks Kagome-nechan!"  
  
"No problem Souta!"  
  
You'll be the best leader there ever was Souta, maybe even greater...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A soft gentle breeze passed me, sending my hair flowing with it a little.   
  
"Hey Kagome!" a male voice called me.  
  
I looked to the speaker. He was sitting down by the picnic he had set out for us. The day was nice and sunny so we decided to have a picnic in the field behind the castle.  
  
"You better hurry up or the ants will finish your part of the meal," he smirked at me.  
  
I smiled in return," Whatever you say... Inuyasha."  
  
Three days ago, he ended up by the kitchen door all bruised and injured. Today, he looked as if he never got in a fight at all, but... he also had no recollection of what happened that got him so banged up that night. Whatever the reason was, I didn't care, just as long as Inuyasha came back sound and safe.  
  
'I suppose I should be grateful and happy that he came back and I am, really, but... Part of me still asks the question... Why? Why did he stay away from me for so long?.. Because I almost... lost myself to-'  
  
"Kagome?" Inuyasha spoke.  
  
I jumped, "What?! Oh, sorry Inuyasha. What were you saying?"  
  
He gave me a worried look, but went on, "I said that we don't get many days like these anymore."  
  
I sighed, "Yeah. I know..."  
  
"We've been fighting on and off since whenever. It's good that we get to be together even though there is a war going on."  
  
I nodded and a short silence ensued.  
  
"Kagome, how come, whenever I'm around, you always hide yourself under a different person?" he asked me out of nowhere.  
  
I blinked.  
  
"Really...?" I said quietly.  
  
"Ever since we've met, I never saw you in your truest form. Either you're in your assassinating outfit, or you're in some bimbo outfit to kill some political guy from some screwed up country. Why don't you show me who you really are?"  
  
His words hit me like needles. My actions and outfits were my own and my business alone. Suddenly, I found myself saying things I never thought I would say.  
  
"Well Inuyasha. Why don't you tell me who your new bimbo is? I've been playing your girlfriend since that day and still, you prance around saying that we're still two in one. What's wrong with that Inuyasha?" I said angrily at him.  
  
He was confused, "Kagome, what're you talking about? What's wrong with you-"  
  
I snapped at him, "No Inuyasha! What's wrong with you?! You ignored me for a while then you ran away for quite some time, telling noone where you went and why you went. Then you come back to me and pretend like nothing's gone wrong! And you see, there's something terribly odd about that, don't you think?"  
  
His face started to scrunch up in slow anger, "Now that's about enough Kagome! Aren't you even glad to see that I'm well and that I'm back? I know I'm glad to see you, but you're not! So the question goes out to you! You're my girlfriend! You're supposed to be happy to see me wherever and whenever! We were meant to be!"  
  
I jumped up from my seat beside him and took in several breaths of air. Inuyasha got up with a very angry look on his face.  
  
"You know what Inuyasha? Hey, I'm your girlfriend, sure, but boyfriends are supposed to have their own responsibilities to uphold if you still want to be with their girlfriends... So... this is it Inuyasha... We're done..." I told him.  
  
Inuyasha's red face slowly faded back to a pale white color.  
  
"Wh-what?" his usually strong and countering voice trembled.  
  
"We're over Inuyasha. I'm tired of waiting for you. You can run back to your Kikyou, because I can't replace her even if I look like her..."  
  
"W-wait! How did you-"  
  
I cut him off, "Your brother. Sesshoumaru told me of her. I heard you call for her name the night I found you. I asked Sesshoumaru and he gave me all the answers that I needed to know."  
  
His face began to turn red again, "Sesshoumaru?! Why that ass-fuckin brother of mine told you about-"  
  
"Inuyasha! Don't. Call. Him. That. He's your own brother and since I was your girlfriend, I had the right to know. I just asked him, it's not his fault. He told me, you two were close, childhood friends and eventually boyfriend and girlfriend. Then, a year ago, she had to take her miko training to the next level and left. Ever since then, you never spoke to each other again. I came and you noticed how we looked alike and you... you only saw her through me."  
  
He remained silent and again, the colors drained from his face at my next words.  
  
"I know Inuyasha. She's returned from her journey, a full-fledged miko. I know you've sneaked out nights to see her. Sesshoumaru can even smell her on you! I can't believe you Inuyasha! You cheated on me so don't say that we were meant to be! You brought this on yourself so we're over!" I choked as tears flooded my eyes.  
  
Inuyasha's mouth opened, but nothing came out.  
  
I turned away, "Kikyou can have you because I never had a place in your heart..."  
  
"Kag-" he started to say.  
  
I took off. I didn't want to hear the rest. My hand went to mouth to cover any sound of crying that I might make, but the tears fell like rain. What was supposed to be sunny and bright was beginning to turn dark and cloudy. The light was gone, only darkness remained. I ran into the castle, past all the guards, all the servants, even my friends Sango and the pervert monk Miroku. I had one place only in my mind, my room, my only sanctuary.  
  
I thought that I was over him, but looks like I wasn't. Words couldn't describe the pain, but it was deep and overwhelming. I needed to put out the fire before it got to the rest of me.  
  
'Just a few more feet... Just a few more...'  
  
So engrossed in my pain and tears, I did not see the person who I ran into. Two strong hands gripped onto my shoulders. I looked up to see the same familiar golden eyes that also belonged to Inuyasha. I suddenly looked down, trying to put out the flowing tears and wiping the snot coming out of my nose.   
  
Yes, I was frankly a disreputable sight to look at. I didn't used to cry much.  
  
I wiped the snot away, but the tears refused stop. Just then, his two arms wrapped around me gently and pulled me in close that my head buried itself into his chest. I cried and cried for god knows how long, but all I remember was the warmth and comfort he gave me before I passed out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I woke up to someone patting on my cheek. I didn't bother to see who it was and turned to my side.  
  
"Myouga, if that's you, I'm gonna suck your brains out and give it to Kirara to eat," I groaned.  
  
"Who's Myouga?" a high and light voice asked me.  
  
My eyes snapped open and I turned to the speaker. A small girl with black hair and the cutest little smile looked back at me.  
  
"Hi! My name is Rin, Kagome-nechan!" she smiled at me.  
  
I looked at her, confused for a few seconds and sent her back my own smile.  
  
"Why, hello. How do you know my name, Rin is it?" I asked her.  
  
"Sesshoumaru -sama told me! He said that you were sad and told me to make you happy again!" she flashed a childish smile at me.  
  
Gosh! I've only met her and I love this little girl already! She's so cute!.. But... how does she know Sesshoumaru? Maybe the almighty and cold youkai leader isn't all that he's cracked up to be...  
  
"Ooooooooooooookay... So... Rin, how is it that you know... Sesshoumaru...sama?" I asked her as I sat up to face her better.  
  
She climbed onto the bed to sit beside me, "Well Sesshoumaru-sama rescued Rin when Rin's mommy and daddy died and Sesshoumaru-sama made Rin come back to life when big bad wolfies killed Rin!"  
  
'...What?'  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
I spent the rest of that day playing with Rin outside because the sky had decided to become clear again after I cried on Sesshoumaru. We played until the sky started to turn dark. A couple of maids rushed Rin to bathe and sleep. I bided her a goodnight and made my way to Sesshoumaru's room... Well, of course I had to take a bath first cause I stunk like road kill. Fortunately enough, Sango and I were headed the same way to the springs that were accessible to us "guests," so we ended up at the same place, but had to "dispatch" of a certain lecherous monk first before the door was shut.  
  
"So..." Sango exhaled after we dipped ourselves into the spring, "I heard that you and Inuyasha finally blew it off."  
  
"How... How did you know?" I asked her.  
  
She smirked, "A certain bird told me."  
  
I sighed and leaned farther into the spring until the water reached my neck.  
  
"Well Sango... He's... not been faithful..." I answered her and closed my eyes.  
  
"Hmm... Must be that Kikyou girl you told me about the night he appeared at the kitchen doorsteps huh?" she said.  
  
I nodded, "Yeah... Turns out, she was his old flame. She left and he found me, someone who looked exactly like her. I may have been his girlfriend for a while, but his heart had always belonged to another..."  
  
"Kagome... That's not the only reason why is it? It doesn't seem like that's the thing that drove you to dump him. It doesn't seem like you really-I'm really sorry to say this Kagome-but you really didn't love him like love-LOVE him..." spoke Sango.  
  
I opened my eyes and looked at her in surprise, "Sango..."  
  
"Hey, I've known you for a while. I should know. You didn't love-LOVE him, but you also feared for his life... right? You were scared that if you two did make it past him and this Kikyou person, then his life might be in danger because you have many enemies due to our... occupation."  
  
I looked down, and then leaned back into the water to my neck.  
  
"..."  
  
"Kagome?"  
  
"...He needs someone better than me Sango. Remember what I told when we first met? You asked me why I wore my outfits and never showed anyone the real me... Well... I'm waiting for him... The one I saw a long time ago...."  
  
Sango rolled her eyes at me, " Oh my gosh! You're still into that find Mr. Right Guy thing? I thought Inuyasha was-"  
  
I cut her off, "No. I was wrong Sango. I thought he was the one, but he's not..."  
  
"But you told me that he knew of the 'place.'"  
  
"Yeah, but... ah, forget it. I know you're gonna complain about looking like a dried prune soon so get out. It's past your usual ten minutes anyway," I said, waving my hand around for her to get out.  
  
"All right Kagome. I'll let you go this time, but next time, you're not getting away so easily!" she sighed in defeat at me.  
  
I closed my eyes and began to sink underwater to wet my hair, "Whatever..."  
  
When I resurfaced, Sango was out of the room and I soon heard a scream about pervert and then a loud bang. Most likely, Miroku was being punished by Sango. I chuckled to myself and leaned my head back on the edge. I closed my eyes and relaxed. The steam floated around me, making me feel dizzy and drowsy.   
  
So dizzy and drowsy was I, that I did not notice the door open and close, the footsteps or the splash in the pool. Something must have been wrong with me cause I paid no attention at all. The moment I decided to open my eyes and get up to stretch (which I did and sorely regret), I noticed that two clear golden orbs stared at my... well, you get the idea. My hands automatically flew to cover my chest and I ducked back under the water.  
  
"Ses-Sesshoumaru!" I shrieked as my cheeks began to burn up.  
  
He gave me a bored stare then closed his eyes and scoffed then looked back at me.  
  
"As if that would interest me," he scoffed.  
  
I knew that my face was red from blushing and getting angry, "Well I'm sorry that my chest isn't big enough to fit to your liking Fluffy-sama!"  
  
His bored expression suddenly scrunched up into a slightly irritated expression.  
  
"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" his venomous voice slithered out.  
  
Whoops! My bad!  
  
I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too young to die naked and exposed to him, so I did something stupid. I went underwater, hoping to escape his wrath and eyes, but what I got was totally unexpected. I SAW something I should never see until I got married (like that would ever happen!) that happened to be a foot away from my face! Was he really that quick?...  
  
Two hands grabbed me and pulled me out of the water and made me stand (which exposed MUCH of my body as well as his). I gasped for air, and I didn't even notice that my tolerance in water wasn't as great as I thought it was.  
  
After sputtering and regaining my senses (awake-yes, drowsy-no more!) from the warm waters, I looked up at Sesshoumaru who glared (well, he didn't really GLARE but kind of stared) at me. His eyes looked deeply into mine, as if searching for something.  
  
"Sesshou-" I started, but was cut off by his mouth.  
  
'Wha...?'  
  
My eyes slowly closed and I started to relax. My body started to go limp as he pulled me closer to his warm, naked body...  
  
'...WAIT A MINUTE HERE!!! NAKED BODY!!!???'  
  
I opened my eyes and noticed that I... fell asleep in the spring!  
  
"What?..."  
  
I looked around me. No sign of anyone other than myself in the spring after Sango left.  
  
"Shit... Falling asleep in the spring. I'm gonna look like a raisin once I'm out..." I muttered to myself as I got out and dressed.  
  
After dressing, I went to Sesshoumaru's room, but he wasn't there and then I went to the library thinking he was there, but no luck. Then I tried his father's study room. Sure enough he was there, but he had dozed off in the big comfy chair he sat in.   
  
'Hmm... Maybe I should bother him about Rin tomorrow...'  
  
The image of him from my... dream suddenly flashed through my mind, but I forced myself to think of other things as I rushed to my room and grabbed a blanket to bring back to him. I wrapped it gently around him and after finishing, I stepped back a couple of feet to gaze at him for a few minutes.  
  
'He sleeps like... like a little baby...'  
  
'A little baby who looks better without the blanket and clothes!'  
  
'Oh shut up you sick perverted mind!'  
  
'Hey! I'm a part of you so you're sick and perverted too!'  
  
'Well... Not like Miroku I hope.'  
  
'Nah! We're not like that. He's on a much DIFFERENT level than us so we're okay.'  
  
'Oh. Okay.'  
  
I went to my room and went to bed right away. I started to drift off to sleep, but not before the image from the springs decided to pay me another visit with the kiss to boot.  
  
'I gotta admit though, even though we're just "friends" (or at least I hope we are), he's a pretty damn good kisser (even if it was just in a dream).'  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Dang, first day of school's a pain. I don't like my Accounting I class. Maybe I'll drop it. Anyways, keep reading or stop to review. (^_^) 


	16. Chapter TwentyOne

Once again, I apologize a lot for not finishing on time. I'm feeling really guilty enough as it is. I want o get kicked in the head by a horse, but I don't want to or I will forget how this story ends so I won't be able to finish it for you guys!  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
There is someone who I'm waiting for. I don't know who exactly, but it was a long time ago. I remember that he was so lonely and sad. I gave him my hand and some of my happiness... No... I gave him more than that... I gave him my word that I would wait for him. I promised him that I'd wait for him to come for me when I was older and when the time was right. We would be together... But... where was he?...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The morning was crisp and fresh. Hopefully, there would be no ambushing tonight because last night was a helluava night for everyone in the castle. The enemy attacked and I was having the nicest of dreams about cake and asparagus... Hey, I have odd dreams, so lay off.  
  
After taking care of the demons, my group members shoved me off to my room and took care of the rest. Damn, it's good to be the leader.  
  
Of course, I got no sleep and so I wander off after a few hours in bed and ended up in Sesshoumaru's room. He was fully awake now (of course he was out fighting the enemies too) but he laid back in his father's chair, staring out into the beyond as if deep in thought.  
  
Maybe I should leave...  
  
"...I rescued Rin from Kouga's wolves and revived her with the Tenseiga that my father had given me. The sword was useless until that point so now... She is my burden," spoke the great youkai king.  
  
I stopped in my tracks.   
  
'So, he knew I was here after all...'  
  
I turned around and faced his gaze.  
  
"That's what you were going to ask me about wasn't it? Rin is not a bastard child of mine, not an heiress nor is she going to be anything more than what she is right now. Rin was just a child who I rescued, nothing more," he told me.  
  
"Really?" I asked.  
  
He nodded.  
  
'Thank goodness it's nothing more!'  
  
"...The Tenseiga... Your father told me about it. How you hated the sword that was of no use to you and how you fought with Inuyasha endlessly to gain the sword given to him. I guess now, you don't hate that sword so much now," I smiled gently at him.  
  
He closed his eyes and sighed, "No Kagome... That sword aggravates my very being."  
  
I was confused, "What? You saved Rin's life with that sword and it's your father's parting gift to you. How can you hate it?"  
  
He opened his eyes and glared at me with fierce golden orbs, "Because that sword... it took my father's life!"  
  
"But didn't that Dragon guy-"  
  
"My father used the Tenseiga to bring me back to life, but the sword that was created from my father's fang by Toto-sai refused to return him to me," he snapped at me.  
  
'Okay, this is confusing...'  
  
"I hate the sword. I cannot fight with it nor can I return my father back. Inuyasha carries his Tetsusaiga around carelessly and I can do nothing more with a blunt knife than for a wall decoration!"  
  
He got up from the chair at this point and his eyes started to turn red. His claws became a fist.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-"  
  
"After my father died, I tried to use that damn sword to return my father to me and yet he remains in death! Did he wish to die or did the sword just refuse him to live?! That sword is useless to me!" he shouted.  
  
He pounded his fists onto the desk so hard that I thought it would break.  
  
His breathing was rapid and his fangs were bared. His eyes looked at me in anger, not angry towards me, but just angry. He was sweating and breathing heavily. I had never seen him like this before.  
  
I took a step forward, fully aware that he could tear me apart while in his foul mood. I could see that his body was now trembling from the anger or the sadness? Maybe both...  
  
"Sesshoumaru-" I started to say.  
  
He turned around, trying to control his rising anger, "Leave me Kagome."  
  
I stood there for a few seconds, thinking and rethinking of my options.  
  
Option A: Leave him alone and check back later.  
  
Option B: Let some other poor miscreant get ripped to shreds by him.  
  
Or Option C: Get hacked and slashed into mincemeat.  
  
As much as I would have loved to do A and B (which I fully intended on doing), my feet decided to go towards him on its own while my mind screamed at it to go the opposite way.  
  
"Kagome! Go!" his rising voice snarled at me with his back still turned to me.  
  
Still, my feet continued on as my mind told me of all the places my body parts would fly off to.  
  
"Kagome!" he yelled at me.  
  
I walked up to him and stood behind him. Then I did something I thought I'd never do again when I dumped Inuyasha... I hugged him. I know he was as surprised as I was because he fists became unclenched and his trembling stopped. The heat from his body faded away as I held onto him tight.  
  
'Great, I hope you wrote your will out.'  
  
'Shut up, I'm doing him some good here.'  
  
"It... must hurt... Losing the only person in your life... whom you respected and respected you... as an equal..." I said in a soft and gentle voice.  
  
He didn't reply back.  
  
"I... I know how you feel... The pain... It hurts too much... It hurts so much that all you want to do is curl up and cry... I... I know... I lost my little cousin Souta... He became my life after I... I held him for the first time in my life when he was born and I knew... that I would protect him with my life..."  
  
Tears flowed down my cheeks.  
  
"But I couldn't save him Sesshoumaru... I couldn't save him... like you couldn't save your father..."  
  
He had gone quiet.  
  
"Don't despair Sesshoumaru... I know that you loved your father very much even though he... even though he made some choices you didn't agree with... Sesshoumaru... You aren't alone..." I whispered and buried my face into his kimono.  
  
I know his back was getting soaked, but like hell I cared!  
  
"Kagome..." he whispered faintly.  
  
I looked up from his back and saw his head had slightly turned to the side. One of his hands moved over my hands that clutched around his waist and lightly squeezed them.  
  
"...Thank you..." he whispered.  
  
The tears ceased to flow and I smiled gently at him and settled back into his back.  
  
"...Thank you..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
I stopped in my tracks. That voice sounded familiar!  
  
I looked to the doors and there was uncle and two of our people with him. He wore his battle outfit, but it was torn and dirty everywhere with blood on it too. He looked beat up sort of, but he stood firm and the same thing went for the other two too. He gave me a great big smile. Happiness poured into me so I forgot all about his appearance and I ran to him like a little girl does to her father. I hugged him and he gave me one of his bear hugs in return.  
  
"Uncle! You're back! Whe-when did you get back!?"  
  
He chuckled, "Just a few minutes ago. Hey, do you know where Lord Sesshoumaru is?"  
  
"Yeah, he's in the study room," I replied. "Why?"   
  
"Oh, just some business to take care of," he said as he extracted me from his hug, "Hopefully you've been a great leader during the time we were gone?"  
  
"Of course! We kicked some serious enemy butt the other night. You aren't gonna get someone this great anywhere else!" I winked.  
  
"Of course! That's why I put you in as leader!"  
  
After talking for a few minutes, I let uncle and the two find Sesshoumaru. I felt happy that uncle came back and went to find Sango. I couldn't find her anywhere and asked several of my people where she went. I got the strangest reply in return.  
  
"She went off somewhere with the monk," was the reply.  
  
'...Okay... No Sango or Miroku. Odd...'   
  
I went in search of Rin, but she was having her lessons with Sesshoumaru's favorite bop-on-the-head-guy named Jaken. Uncle and Sesshoumaru were busy and my people had their own things to do so I had nothing to do. Then I decided to I go to the garden to relax. What I found there was very... well, I don't know how to say it, but I was surprised, as in not too enthusiastically surprised. A long black hair girl in a miko's outfit stood on the bridge that overlooked the lily pond.  
  
I knew who it was already.  
  
"Kikyou..."  
  
She turned to look at me. Sure enough, it was her. My rival...  
  
"Kagome," she said with a dull face on, "Why are still in those ridiculous costumes and that strange alien hair color? Oh well, old habits die hard as they say. Are you still on-training as a miko or have you dropped out like the rest of those insignificants?"  
  
"No... I dropped because I had other things to do..." I replied trying to still my anger from exploding.  
  
She shrugged, "Oh well. It's good to see you again classmate."  
  
"Same here," I said back to her.  
  
"Oh and by the way... Have you seen Inuyasha? I know he's here somewhere," her sweet little annoying voice sang.  
  
'KIKYOU!!!??? HERE!? So it was THAT Kikyou that Inuyasha was fumbling himself over!!??'  
  
"No," I responded back and left the gardens.  
  
Well, I knew Kikyou from before because uncle sent me away to study at a shrine for some months to strengthen my inherited miko powers. I learned quickly and I competed for the top of my class with Kikyou, another miko-in-training. We didn't get along very well, but we didn't fight a lot. She was kinda snobby, but not to showoffish and I "tried" to avoid her as much as possible.  
  
Then there was Hojo the wonder boy, one of our classmates who was training to be a priest. He was so sweet and charming, so innocent and pure and he had his heart set on me the first time he laid eyes on me. He bought me the oddest things after I returned from jobs uncle had sent me out to do because uncle usually lied that I was sick from some contagious diseases or deadly illness. Ginger root, hagswort, frog legs, cinnamon sticks... He was a nice guy who was smitten with me, but I wasn't interested.  
  
'Why is Kikyou back here? Wait, she must have finished her training. She must be a powerful miko now. Better not mess with her....'  
  
"Kagome!" someone called me.  
  
I looked up and there was Sango.  
  
"Hey there cutie! I heard that you were with-" I started to joke around, but her face was serious.  
  
"Kagome! This is no time to be joking around!"  
  
Then I got serious. "W-wait, what's up Sango, is it my uncle?"  
  
"No, worst! Lord Sessshoumaru now has the Western Lands back from his uncle!" she exclaimed frantically.  
  
"Wait, isn't that good news?" said I.  
  
"No it isn't, Kagome! Here, come with me! We have a meeting to go to!" she said, making me worry.  
  
She grabbed my hand and rushed us to the throne room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I have returned the Western Lands to Lord Sesshoumaru from his uncle Lord InuRaijiu. It was long and it was in secret, and I apologize for not telling you all, but it was for the best," spoke uncle.  
  
All of us were worrying. Although it was good news, it was bad for my people.  
  
"Once we help defeat Naraku then Lord Sesshoumaru will return to the Western Lands as we had promised his father," said uncle.  
  
"But, what about our agreement master? Will we be able to return to Shatura?" asked one of my comrades.  
  
Uncle's face lost all happiness it had contained before the question was asked. I never noticed it, but his face was lined with old age all over. He looked very tired, almost as if he had aged a thousand years from the last time I saw him.  
  
"That... is for Lord Inuyasha to decide," replied he.  
  
"But Uncle! You told me, us, all of our people that we would return to our homeland!" I exclaimed, still clinging on desperately to hope.  
  
He sighed, "Kagome... I said that it was possible that we might return to our homeland. The agreement was that we would help aid in defeating Shatura's enemies and destroy the current leader of the Western Lands. After that then Lord InuTaisho would have given us permission to come home to Shatura, but... the deal was with Lord Inutaisho and me, not Lords Inuyasha nor Sesshoumaru.   
  
The original idea was for Sesshoumaru to rule the Western Lands once we defeated his uncle and then put Inuyasha on the Shaturan throne... but things will not run the way we all hoped it to... So as you can see... We may be fighting for a war that will not end our homesickness."  
  
We were all silent. Unsure of what to say and too heartbroken to say anything... Except for me of course, I wanted to kick some ass! I was just fuming with pent up anger!  
  
"Lord Sesshoumaru!" I suddenly snapped, grabbing everyone's attention, "Can't you do something about this?! You are the current king!"  
  
He gave me a dull look and scoffed, "So what if I am? As long as I keep Shatura running until I can figure out how to make my brother stay put, it is none of my concern because this is only a temporary job."  
  
My heart felt like it had broken into a million pieces.  
  
'So... this is how it is? Fight for a country that we've longed to return to only to find out that we've been fighting and losing people for no reason at all?'  
  
Tears started to run down my eyes and I quickly wiped them away before anyone saw.  
  
"This isn't how it was supposed to be! We were-we were supposed to live happily ever after back in Shatura!" my voice cracked.  
  
I turned and ran from the room, ignoring all the calls for me. I ran to the gardens in hopes of finding temporary peace there. That Kikyou bitch was gone, thank god! Still, the sadness was tearing me up inside out. I ran until I reached the bridge above the lily pond.  
  
'My life is a waste. This was the only reason I had to go on. Souta... I promised you... I promised you that...'  
  
My tears returned and fell and fell.  
  
'Souta! I failed your wish! I broke my promise to you! Now, our clan can never rejoin Shatura like you wished. After you died... I had nothing more to go on with except uncle and your wish, but...'  
  
I looked below me and watched as the fish swam about with their petty and meaningless lives...  
  
'...I wonder how deep that water is?...'  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
I turned to look. Crimson Moon and Crimson Blade both stood at the end of the bridge.  
  
"Just let me be..." said I.  
  
'Five feet? Nah... Must be deeper cause I can't see the bottom. Hey, I can see a turtle in there...'  
  
"We heard everything Kagome," said Blade.  
  
"And we cannot leave you alone at a time like this, not when you're-" started Rune, but I stopped her.  
  
"Leave me alone goddammit! I'm just-just reevaluating my life here so give me some peace!" I sniffed as I tried to wipe the oncoming tears away.  
  
"Kagome-"  
  
I turned so fast to face them that my neck hurt, but I didn't care.  
  
"HEY! Didn't you hear me?! I said leave this bitch alone! She's not your lapdog that you can pet whenever you want! GO AWAY!" I screamed at them.  
  
They left after several minutes of hesitation. I sniffed again as the tears kept coming. My eyes wandered back to the pond.  
  
'I hope it's deep... As deep as the sadness I feel right now... Maybe I can go take a "swim" later in there... Maybe all this sadness will wash away with it... maybe this pathetic life too...'  
  
I looked up at the sky.  
  
"Souta... If you can hear me... Souta... What do you want me to do now? I failed you... but I need you to help me know what I should do now... Souta... please help me..." I cried.  
  
My head went back down as I stared endlessly into the rippling water with my tears disturbing the surface of the pond below.  
  
"Souta... I'm sorry..." I whispered as the tears came faster.  
  
'Hey, I can see my reflection...'  
  
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I'm stuck on my assignment. Who Am I? Am I Who? I Who Am? I Am Who? Anyways, that's the question, who are you and the person you want to be in thr future. Kinda hard and I got some strict rules to go by so it's kinda hard to do so I can't wing it this time. Damn! Anyways, go on or stop and review. Your choice, choose wisely young one... (^_^) 


	17. Chapter TwentyTwo

Hello again. Tired of reading this yet? Well, please don't be. I'm thinking about making a sequel... but it's up to you readers if you want one or not. I don't know so please tell me if a sequel is what you crave for then I will do... After I'm done of course.  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Nighttime came and we all returned to the study of his majesty, the jackass Sesshoumaru. This time, we were to listen to Crimson Blade's story...  
  
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My real name is Megumi, no last name. I, too, am an orphan, found upon the steps of a church in another country that I will not name. The only clue to my birth was a pendant. No matter what it was, I treasured it...  
  
One of the nuns there gave me my name and the Father there was a kind old man who loved to paint. Sister Angela was the name of the nun and she loved music. Her parents were music lovers too, but when she was ten, her parents died in an accident and Father Joseph agreed to take her in because she had no other family. After that, she vowed to never forget their love of music.   
  
She would always make me sing with her and I grew to love music. She taught me how to make a reed flute, and my very first one that was a success was bigger than the actual size, but I was proud of it.  
  
Father Joseph painted a picture of Sister Angela and myself and I kept it in my pendant. Life was very peaceful for the three of us and the other children. Sister Angela told me many tales of great heroes who went to do many good things for kings and the people and were awarded great things for their achievements... but she never told me about the horrors of what evil men could do to the good people.  
  
It happened one night, we weren't prepared, nor did we know. I was asleep, as was the other children. Suddenly, Sister Angela awoke each one of us and rushed us out the back door. I knew nothing of what was happening, but I overheard the other Sisters whisper amongst each other that the king of that country had been slaughtering all people who went against his regulations and believed that all the churches were against him.  
  
We ran to the forest behind the church and I remembered my flute that I cherished above all else besides my pendant. I had left it behind and I rushed back to get it. The church was on fire and armored men with scary weapons were piled all around, searching for any survivors to slay. I slipped by all of them and ran inside.   
  
Fire was everywhere, on the walls, the tapestries, the floor... I evaded all and made it to my room, grabbed my flute and ran like hell out of there. So busy was I that I didn't notice a door fall off its hinges and fall on me. Fortunately enough, it did not burn me that bad at all, but it did leave a bad mark on my leg. I wiggled out from the intense flames, ran out of the burning church and into the forest without getting caught.  
  
I then realized that I was lost until Sister Angela found me and scolded me about being reckless. Still, she was happy that I was alive and well, even though I was burned a little. We frantically made our way to where the others were supposedly at, but we had to hide because there were soldier walking by past us. When they left, we rushed to where all my friends, the Sisters and Father Joseph were, but what we saw were dead corpses. The soldiers had killed them all and even mutilated the bodies. I couldn't tell who was who and I threw up. Sister Angela prayed for them and then we ran.   
  
I don't know how long or where we ran, we just ran. We ran until the night was gone and day broke over the horizon. We made it to the road and Sister Angela tried to keep us in high spirits by making us sing and telling me stories. She knew where we were and told me of a town nearby that she had visited when she was younger. In case we would get lost, she told me that we should meet there in the town square. We headed towards there and even hitched a ride with a nice stranger who was on his way there, but we were in for a shock.  
  
Soon, the man grabbed Sister Angela and threw her to the ground. He started raping her in front of me and she screamed and tried to get him off her, but he was too strong, even for me. I tried to get him to leave her alone, but he knocked me aside. I grabbed a large branch and hit him over the head with it. He got angry and was going to kill me, but Sister Angela grabbed him and he focused his anger on her. She told me to untie the horse and ride away without looking back. I did as she said as she held him back.   
  
I didn't look back, I couldn't. I was too scared to want to know what was behind me. The horse ran on and on until we reached a pond. I let the horse rest a while as I did and when the sun fell, we continued on. We rode on till I reached a town that as by the sea. It was the town that Sister Angela had told me of. I tied the horse to a tree and went inside to the town square.   
  
I waited and waited for Sister Angela to arrive, but she never came. For three days I waited, eating nothing and not sleeping, but staying alert for any sign of Sister Angela, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally, I fell asleep in an alley and woke up to a man poking me in the shoulder to wake up. I didn't know that fate had sent him to become my master.  
  
He owned a circus and I was very much amazed at everything that they could do there. For the next couple of months he had me help out in setting up the places and getting everyone's props ready for them when it was showtime. I began to get attached to one of the performers. Her name was Madame Sora. She was very popular on the flying trapeze and I just adored her because she was very kind to me as was everyone else, but she was so beautiful. She became my role model.  
  
Then as the nights went on, I started to notice that sometimes the performers would sneak out at night and come back late the next morning or maybe even a few days later. So one night, I followed Sora as she sneaked out one night after we had moved away from the city after doing a performance. I followed her to a mansion and an old guy let her into the house. Being how old I was, which was about seven or eight, I didn't realize that she was there to seduce the guy and saw them making out on his couch. Suddenly, she pulled a dagger out and killed him in one stab. No blood on her, no mess. It was a clean hit and she walked out as if nothing had happened.   
  
She came out and spotted me, I asked her about what had happened and she told me that she would explain after we got back home to the circus. She then went to talk to the boss after we got back and we talked. They were a circus group by day and by night they were assassins.   
  
They had originally planned out that when I reached the age of a young woman, they would send me off to work at another place or I would eventually find a man and settle down. They weren't expecting that I would find out about their other job, but I did and they didn't know what to do with me. I then suggested that I would become an assassin like them and so, they taught me and I became the flaming sword juggler/thrower.   
  
At the age of thirteen, they sent me off to begin my first day of being an assassin. My first kill was okay, but that was the first time I ever killed a man who I didn't know and I threw up and went crazy. Sora and the others who came to get me brought me back and calmed me down. They told me that their first time wasn't easy for them either and so gave me some advice on what to do when doing assassinations. They told me to think about other things when assassinating or do something that would keep my mind off of the blood.   
  
So I took their advice and my next assassination was in assassinating some general guy and he had a lot of people so I started singing to myself and started to sway with the movement of the sword, as if I was dancing. I killed the general and his troop that protected him. Those that survived and saw me spread the word that there was a dangerous psycho that wields two blades on the loose and Crimson Blade was born.  
  
I became one of the three most feared assassins, most wanted and sought out in the world.   
  
Then, we joined the rebel group who wanted the king kicked out and they wanted to claim the throne for the people. The leader of the rebels was the bastard son of the king. So, they made me go in as a maid to get close to the king. I went in and got close to the princess and she made me her personal maid. I couldn't get any closer to the king because he had guards everywhere around him.   
  
Then I met a man who was the king's nephew, a knight, the princess' first cousin and lover. He was suspicious of me from the first day he met me. I didn't care about him much... but he got to me. I tried to ignore it and told myself that I felt nothing towards him, but I... I couldn't admit it, but I was falling for this guy.  
  
I used the princess to get some information for my people and never considered much about her except that she was a pawn, but... One day, she said to me that I was her only real friend that she had ever had and trusted me more than herself. It... It made me feel guilty.  
  
Then my people decided to finally attack and kill the king on the day of a festival. They were to attack and be a decoy while the family got away and I would run away with them being that I was the princess' personal maid and all. When they got away, then I would kill them. So it happened. They attacked and the family got away with several many bodyguards and with me along. I was supposed to kill them all... but I didn't kill them. I argued with myself that I had a duty to fulfill, but I had a friend to protect, so I couldn't' make up my mind... but I had no choice in what would transpire in a few days.  
  
Apparently, I wasn't told of a Plan B. What would happen was that the bastard prince would bring some people, seek us out and kill the royal family. They came in a couple days and killed off all of the royal family, even the princess. The knight got mortally injured, but as the princess was dying, she wished us the best and wanted us to escape.  
  
The bastard prince took no notice of me, but he had intended to have me be killed, but first, he would kill his own father. He cornered his father and told him that he would kill him off and take the throne. He had no intention of making the kingdom become a democracy.   
  
Well, the king seemed to be at a loss, but his personal bodyguards suddenly became bloodthirsty and dangerous. They were almost possessed when they killed the bastard son and all his people.   
  
I took the knight's hand and ran. We ran and ran until we could no longer run and I hid us in a cave. I then took care of the knight because he was losing a lot of blood and I used all that I knew to save his life. That night, he became delirious from a fever and thought that I was the princess. I almost pretended that I was his princess and almost allowed myself to... Well, I stopped before I got any farther and told him that I wasn't his princess or comfort to hide his sadness. He snapped out of the fever and regained his senses. He apologized and fell asleep.   
  
He got better the next day and we traveled on until we hit a fork in the road. I told him to go back to the castle and I had to go my own way. He wanted to accompany me so because being a man and a knight, it was his duty to protect women, but I refused and forced him to go. He finally left, thanking me before he was gone and I went my own way back home to the main base.  
  
I returned and everyone was happy to see me, but they weren't happy when I told them of what happened to me. Finally, they unraveled the tale of the mad bastard prince. They found his loyal followers try to kill the leader, my boss, and they found the truth behind his lies. After killing the royal family, he had meant to take over the throne for himself and kill all who allied themselves with us to free our kingdom. Also, he had promised to bring me back to my group unharmed and safe. Unfortunately, he had other things in mind and planned for my death, but it did not happen.  
  
Just then we found out that the king, although heirless and womanless (even though he could take any woman he wanted) had wanted immortality and power. We received information from our spies that he was looking for the phoenix, a divine creature of great fiery power that was able to return the dead back to life and give wishes. He sent many men out to scour the kingdom for any information about the phoenix. So it was our best judgment that we find the phoenix before he did or kill him before then.  
  
From our spies and scholars (yes, we even had scholars) we found out that the phoenix would appear in three forms. One was its power in the form of something deadly, but powerful and its mind in the form of something memorable. The third form was unknown. Apparently, there was a kingdom nearby that used to worship this phoenix and the phoenix bestowed upon them a treasure that was protected by each of the line to the throne. The king though, had destroyed this peaceful kingdom a long time ago so nothing was left behind... or so many thought.   
  
The king found a survivor of this kingdom, an old man who was a personal guard of the royal family. His final duty to the royal family was to hide their daughter somewhere and let her live on to protect the treasure. He brought her to a church and she was raised there, but the king had ordered the churches to be destroyed a while back so she could have died. Well, they killed the man who spat his blood upon their shoes and wished for the princess to return to exact revenge upon her family's killers before he died.  
  
From everything the old man owned, they found a picture of this thing, the treasure. It was a necklace-no a locket where memories could be stored that looked exactly like mine...  
  
Was I the princess? Yes... the king remembered that I held the locket around my neck every time he saw me and even commented on it. His lust for the treasure drove him to throw his favorite nephew into jail and be tortured into giving information on my location even though he did not know. I, along with several of my friends, broke in and helped him escape with us back to the main base.   
  
There was little time to rejoice. I took care of the knight, but his uncle attacked with full force at our base. He had some people tail us back to base to kill the rebels and capture me. Many of my friends including Madame Sora and comrades-at-arms died but the rest, including my boss, the knight and myself, escaped.   
  
We escaped without being followed to another base. From there we regrouped and waited till we got stronger because that took out a chunk of the rebel army. The knight got better and we got closer, but I refused to love a man who saw me as comfort to forget his lost loved one. It hurt, but when it was time for the final battle, I put it all behind me and told him everything because I might not return. He, in turn, revealed everything to me. He did not hate me. He did not love me as a replacement. He simply just fell in love with me in time. Yes, he did love me and I was happy, even for a second, I was happy.  
  
We, the rebels, stormed the castle and made our way to the king. His Blood Knights guarded him well. We were no match for them all and they cornered us all. Their lives were in danger and threatened if I did not give them the treasure. So, I went forward and gave it to them in return for my companions' safety. They dared not to hurt me, because as it turns out, I was important in summoning the phoenix because I was its priestess.   
  
They forced me to summon the phoenix, but though I tried, the phoenix refused to acknowledge my desperation. Believing that I was a fraud, the king sent his people to kill my comrades and me, but... the phoenix finally appeared and incinerated the king and all his blood knights. The kingdom was saved, my friends were safe and I was glad.  
  
The phoenix asked for my wish and I could only wish for the restoration of the kingdom, but this time it would be for the people. It granted my wish and disappeared, but my locket remained. After that, the knight and I went far away and went to live by the sea. I buried my swords as he locked his away. We lived happily for two years, but one day while returning from the village near our house, I came home to noone. He was not there. He left me a message that told me that he had to leave and would return and for me not to follow.  
  
I didn't listen to him and took out my swords. I decided to follow and went back to the capital to ask my former boss if he knew where the knight had gone. What I returned to was a dark kingdom that was once again ruled by some royal bastards of the previous king with the help of someone unknown, but evil. The place was desolate and the people were afraid of even their own shadows besides the soldiers.   
  
I found my old group. They knew nothing of him, but it may have been possible that he was taken into the castle so I left for there, but security was tight so I was held up. The guards stopped me and I fought most of them, but they kept coming so I was basically losing. Then, Lord Taka's people came to my rescue, but they made a deal with me. If I agreed to help them, I would live after that battle, but if I did not help them, they would leave me to die by the guards' hands.  
  
So I took up their offer and we retreated after a while and so... here I am...  
  
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Megumi looked at us all with tired eyes and a sore throat.  
  
"Do not worry Megumi. We will help you find him," said uncle.  
  
'...Even though our people will not return home... We will help you return home... with your husband...'  
  
"Megumi's story is a sad one. She must have had to endure much," said Sango.  
  
Uncle had taken us aside to talk. "Us" consisted of myself, Sango and oddly enough, Miroku.  
  
Miroku's hand went to his chin, "Ah yes. She has had much sadness enter her life. Maybe I should go comfort her?"  
  
"Hiraikotsu!!!"  
  
Wham! Thump!  
  
In the next second or so, Miroku was Spam on the wall due to Sango's boomerang.  
  
"Hentai!" she scoffed.  
  
"S-Sango? Maybe you should sit down for a bit..." I said.  
  
She sheathed her boomerang and shrugged at me.  
  
"Ahem. Yes, Megumi and Rune have lead a harsh life so far, but as Crimson Moon And Blade, they cannot show any weakness," said uncle.  
  
"Uncle, why do they tell us their stories? Why do you make them tell us? These stories are... are making them feel the heartache from before... Why?" I asked him.  
  
"Kagome, I didn't make them tell you their stories. They asked me if they could tell their stories to us," he explained to me, "so the sadness that comes with these stories are on their own terms. They wanted you to know, to feel the pain they feel. The life of a Crimson Lotus is not very easy."  
  
"I know that... but what does this have to do with me?... or exactly, what does it have to do with the war?"  
  
"Hai. Master, I would like to know too. What makes these stories relevant to our cause?" spoke Sango.  
  
"As do I Master Taka," said the perverted priest who had just pried himself from the wall.  
  
Uncle sighed, "As for Crimson Moon, her story somehow connects with the dragon lad and for Crimson Blade, her story connects with the heirs to the throne in her country. Why are all these people appearing right now? What is their part in the war? One mystery leads to another, but they are all connected to one single person and that person is, somehow, the young Prince Naraku."  
  
"Naraku?" all three of us replied in unison.  
  
"Yes, him... I don't know how or why, but that is what we are trying to find out. From what we've uncovered so far, the Dragon Man is employed and faithful to Naraku, but he is the last remaining of the Dragon Clan, one of the most feared and powerful clans in the world. The twins, the brother and sister heirs to Megumi's country have come to claim the throne.   
  
Most likely, they are bastard children by some low class mistress of the king. His bastard son killed many of who were related to the throne, but these two managed to escape death. Being born into lower class, their mother would have spoken to their father's lineage to them, but seeing as to how many enemies the father had, she would have held her tongue. So... Who gave them the idea that they were royalty and helped them return a democracy back into a monarchy?"  
  
'I don't know...'  
  
"So... all arrows point to Naraku then?" said Sango.  
  
"Yes," replied uncle.  
  
"Even... Even the death of my fellow villagers that led us to flee and find another home until you took us in?" said she.  
  
He nodded.  
  
Miroku's beads clanked together as he raised his hand to look at it.  
  
"It was because of that prince that my right hand is cursed with the Kazaana, as was my father who was killed by this..." spoke the priest.  
  
"I have no real quarrel against this man Naraku, but he is evil and I must get rid of evil because it is my duty as a miko to destroy evil... and my duty as a Lost Soul to return my people back to where they belong," said I, finally.  
  
"Naraku has lead this world on far enough with his lies and deceit. He is cunning and sly and must be defeated or his evil will harm others who are still untouched," uncle announced.  
  
"We will defeat him uncle... We will..." I whispered.  
  
I heard a squeak beneath me. A black rat skittered between my feet and into a hole.  
  
'Hmm... Odd... It's eyes looked like it was glowing red...'  
  
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He stood before the mirror with a smile plastered on his face.  
  
"Defeat me?... What can an old man, a demon exterminator and a perverted priest do to me? I am untouched by humans..." stated Naraku.  
  
He raised his hand up to caress the image of Kagome.  
  
"This girl... Kagome... Don't worry... I will come for you soon enough my sweet... Soon..." he said and kissed Kagome's form in the mirror.  
  
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"Gah!"  
  
Sango's head whipped right at me, "What Kagome? Is something wrong?"  
  
I wiped my cheek.  
  
"It... It felt like... don't laugh at me Sango.... but it felt like someone kissed me..."  
  
"Probably your future husband," She teased me and laughed.  
  
I laughed with her, but my comfort level was decreasing rapidly. Something was wrong here.  
  
'If that was a kiss...it felt cold...'  
  
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You will find out later why Naraku's a crazed sex addict who wants Kagome only and what the deal is with Kikyou. Anyways, this is it for now, I will update ASAP... probably next weekend. Homework and work have got me going over the edge already... (@,@); Also, my sister is selling Happenings books (only for Minnesota, sorry) so if you're interested in buying one (they're $25 btw), feel free to email me and we'll work something out. 


	18. Chapter TwentyThree

Sorry for not updating in a long while. School and stuff got to me again. ACT this weekend then I got Sadies so after this, I might not update for a while too. Well, actually, I don't know about Sadies now. Looks like my mom wasn't paying attention when I told her that Sadies is where the girl asks the guy out and she's got this huge thing where girls and guys can't be friends. So I'm like, why not? She answers that it's just not right and that when a guy and girl like each other, they shouldn't even date. They should get married and I'm like, WHAT THE FUCK!!!!???? Anyways... away from my social life. Actually, I finished this chapter, chapter 24 and chapter 25 a while back actually. I just haven't had time to go on the net to put them in and eveytkime I do go in, something's always up with the server so I can't log in, but oh wells...  
  
The opening part of the story was longer than I thought and it doesn't exactly coincide with the actual story of Inuyasha, but um, just deal with it okies? At least it works with this story!  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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"Hey uncle, can you tell me a story? A story about a girl this time, okay?" I asked him.  
  
He chuckled lightly and ruffled my hair a bit as he rocked the sleeping baby Souta in his arms. I was about seven then.  
  
"Sure," he replied with a great smile on his face.  
  
"Yay!" I cheered happily.  
  
I settle down quickly to hear of the tale my uncle would tell me.  
  
"A long time ago..." he started...  
  
There was a miko of great beauty who had extraordinary powers. She slew evil with her sword and miko powers. No demon could match her strength and power. All demons feared her and those who were foolish enough to disturb the peace or fight her were killed or purified. Her name was Midoriko, the Divine Miko as some called her. She fought for justice and for good. She was loved by good and hated by evil.  
  
Midoriko killed many demons so in turn they feared and hated her. They hated her so much that they devised a plan to kill her. The demons all fused into one great super demon, but used a normal man to be the base of their power. They fed off his dark energy because he had desired Midoriko for a long time, but she rejected him. They attacked Midoriko and for many days and nights, they battled until Midoriko could feel her strength being drained away. The demon took this chance to grab her and take her power by fusing her into it. Midoriko knew that if she let them take her power, they would become too powerful to defeat and so, she used her last remaining powers to purify what she could of the demon. From this, the demon energy and her energy created a jewel that held a tremendous amount of power that could intensify one's powers by almost infinity. The demon and Midoriko died. The jewel was taken in by Midoriko's only child whom she had conceived with her late husband who had died. The child and the jewel disappeared in time... but that child had children and the children of Midoriko had children. Oddly enough, all those that were descendants of Midoriko died, the aura of Midoriko's fearsome youaki killing power bringing about their doom... but one survived... One who would always survive to keep the jewel from falling into enemy hands...  
  
Eventually, one of Midoriko's descendants fell in love with a prince and he to her. His parents though, did not approve because she was not of royal birth. So they decided to run away together and live happily alone for a while, but his royal parents soon asked them to come back because he was their only son. So, the both of them returned and the king and queen were happy. From then on, one child of the line would always be brought up in the ways of the miko and protect the jewel. Such was her fate, to guard the jewel until her time would come and her child would take over. And so, that duty had fallen on your mother... that is, it would have if...  
  
  
  
The last part of the story was drowned out by my sleepiness. Sleep had threatened me and I succumbed to the powerful will of it and so, I did not hear of how the story ended...  
  
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Chapter Twenty-Three  
  
It was nighttime... and my shift. Gods was it boring! I wanted to sleep, but oh well, like I couldn't do anything about it!  
  
"Tired! So very tired!" I sang.  
  
As I passed a window, I noticed a dark figure fall down outside the window to the ground. I ran to the window and saw the figure look around and rush off.  
  
'Oh no! You're not gonna get away!'  
  
I jumped off the ledge and landed on my feet lightly.   
  
'Ahh... The skills of being an assassin... Now where did he run off to?...'  
  
I heard a faint rustle of leaves and followed it. The rustling of leaves slowed down due to the many bushes (one of the many quirks that Lord InuTaisho put in, very ingenious and crafty I must admit) that blocked the way. The bushes were meant to help tell where the enemy was if ever there were a silent stalker among them. I rushed forward silently and lunged at them when I was close enough.  
  
"Gotcha!" I shouted as my hands closed around their head.  
  
"Mmmpf!!!" the voice mumbled beneath my hands.  
  
"Who are you!?" I demanded.  
  
The hands gripped onto my hands and tore them off.  
  
"Kagome! You're killing me!" came the now familiar voice.  
  
"Wait... Rune, what are you doing out this time of the night?" I asked her.  
  
Her face became visible in the barely dim light.  
  
"Well... Kag-" she started to say as two blades found its way to our throats.  
  
"Make one wrong move and you're dead," spoke the swords' bearer.  
  
"Hey! It's us! Megumi!"  
  
The swords dropped a split second later and Megumi came into view.  
  
"What are you two doing out this late at night?" she asked her questioningly.  
  
I nodded to Rune, "I was just asking her the same thing. I was on guard duty and saw her try to make a great escape out of the castle grounds."  
  
Megumi looked at Rune who looked down from our eyes, "Rune?.."  
  
She looked back up at the both of us, "You guys... I... I'm going to meet someone..."  
  
Megumi and I looked at each other then back at her, "What?!"  
  
"Shh! Not too loud!" she whispered to us.  
  
"What's going on Rune?" I asked her.  
  
She sighed, "... Tonight... I heard Master Taka and several of his spies saying that the... the Dragon Man was... in the castle of Torrent."  
  
Megumi's face paled the moment Torrent was mentioned.  
  
"T-Tor-Torrent?" she stammered and shivered..  
  
"Torrent? Wait! That's where... Where those twins who took over your country lives, right?" I asked her.  
  
Megumi started to tremble a little and seemed to have dazed off.  
  
"Megumi?" both Rune and I asked.  
  
She was silent for a few minutes more before she finally spoke.   
  
"I will take you there," she said to Rune.  
  
"What!? You must out of your mind!" I practically screamed at them.  
  
"No... I'm pretty sure my mind is working normally," answered the duo bladed assassin, "I need to do this to help out Rune, Kagome."  
  
"By letting her go into a well-guarded castle like that? Hold on Rune, why are you going to this place?"  
  
Rune's eyes saddened a little, "I think that maybe... just maybe... Ser might be..."  
  
I knew what she was going to say.  
  
"Rune, the guy's dead. Leave the guy alone! He's not Case and he's the enemy! What can you do about this? Maybe its nothing-"  
  
"No Kagome, I can... I can feel something there..." said she.  
  
"But how?" asked I, again.  
  
"We've... been meeting up in secret..."  
  
"...WHAT!!!!????" I almost exploded.  
  
"Just once in a while, but... I can feel something from him that's oddly familiar like Case. Maybe it's me, but he seems..."  
  
"Rune?" asked Megumi.  
  
She looked up and Megumi gave her the sign to follow her. She looked at me and shrugged. I looked at them both.  
  
"You guys?... Man, it's dangerous... H-hey Megumi! I thought you said that you hated that place!"  
  
She paused and turned to face me. She put on a strange smile on her face.   
  
"I hate it to death..." she replied.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I can't believe you guys are doing this!" I told them for probably the hundredth time.  
  
"Then why are you going with us?" asked Rune with a smirk on her face.  
  
I grimaced at that. Not like she could see it anyway, it was dark outside.  
  
"Because I'm your friend and letting you go into a place like this alone will get me in trouble (either way I will get in trouble...) so I'm in for the ride," I replied.  
  
Megumi chuckled, "Thanks Kagome."  
  
"Yeah..."   
  
'And in for a whole lot more trouble when I get back...'  
  
Of course, the whole area was dark and I was unfamiliar with the place even though my eyes were already used to the dark from years of experience and training. The sounds of crickets chirping were all around and underneath us. I shivered as I felt a snake run over my boot. I shook it off and hurried on behind the other two. We had arrived in a forest behind the castle. It looked like any regular castle, but it was huge and I mean HUGE!   
  
The castle was built with blocks of rocks and the color was undefined due to the total darkness. Its dark presence loomed over us angrily with its high towers and sharp, pointy tips. The body of the castle was protected by its walls that were dimly lit up by scattered torches that barely seemed to take notice of anything around at all and seemed to beckon those passing by to climb its walls to see what it hid behind its barricade. The lights lit inside came into the night with an eerie glow, as if reaching out its cold fingers to touch any unwelcome dark creature that might come by it.   
  
Frankly, it looked scary... for a regular-looking castle!  
  
"It didn't used to look like this..." whispered Megumi, as if she had been reading my thoughts.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The castle," she continued, "there were more guards out patrolling and more light, but... It's just dark. No patrols or guards on the walls or ground to spot intruders. What's going on?..."   
  
'It's a trap, that's what's going on. A trap that we're walking ourselves blindly into!'  
  
Suddenly, we all felt something move quickly in the grass before us. Two bright red dots moved along the dark, grassy covered ground. I took out several darts that I had newly made and threw it at it with impeccable speed, as did the other two who carried their own darts.   
  
In less than a second after the darts were thrown, we heard a very high-pitched screech, like a wild animal and the two previously seen red dots disappeared. We stood by silently, still debating whether to move on or not.   
  
Finally, I forced myself to go look and went to the place where we last sensed it. The other two stood by as I reached down and felt something furry brush against my searching hand. It felt so cold, almost as if it had never been alive at all. I grabbed it and held it up to examine it as the other two closed in to look at it as well. My hands were shaking, willing to drop the thing anytime, but my mind told myself to keep holding it.  
  
"What is it?" asked Rune.  
  
"A ridiculously large sized rat," replied I.  
  
"But would a rat screech like that?" asked Megumi.  
  
We were all silent for a few moments before we decided to move on. I threw the dead carcass away, glad to be rid of the dead vermin that reeked of eeriness. We sneaked to the back of the castle walls as if we were nothing but shadows.  
  
"Should we climb it?" I asked them.  
  
Rune looked to Megumi, "You know the place. Your choice."  
  
Megumi looked thoughtful for a moment then back to us.  
  
"Climb," she finally answered.  
  
"Okey dokey. Upsy daisy!" I said and began to scale the walls in a timeless manner.  
  
Suddenly, Megumi's hand pulled me off the wall before I could get any farther (which wasn't too far up).   
  
"Rune, you go. We'll stay here till you come back," she announced.  
  
"What!?" I exclaimed.  
  
"Rune is the one here who has a reason for going in, we don't. I'd also prefer not to go in. I'm not very kind towards royalty nor are they very welcoming to the one who dethroned and destroyed the royal family," spoke Megumi.  
  
I had to agree. I had no point in being there except probably for moral support and backup. Megumi was there for... gods no what, but to lead Rune here safely and Rune... Rune came to see the Dragon Guy... For reasons why I have no clue, but she insisted so she was going.  
  
Rune nodded to Megumi and to me, "I got you involved and I'm sorry. If anything happens, go back and forget me ok?"  
  
I shook my head, "Heck no! We can't do that. By dawn, you'd better be back here or we'll come in, assuming that you got caught."  
  
Rune opened her mouth to argue, but stopped, seeing no point in continuing when I gave her my you'll-never-win-this-argument-no-matter-what-you-say-or-do look. She knew that we would come no matter what and nodded.  
  
She then started to climb the walls. We looked on until she reached the top in record timing. She looked down at us form the top and gave us a thumb's up sign.  
  
"Jack be nimble..." she whispered down to us.  
  
"Jack be quick," I smiled.  
  
"Good luck!" said Megumi.  
  
Rune smiled back at us and then disappeared from our view.  
  
I sighed, "Well... We got a while before dawn comes so we'd better go wait somewhere safer, right?"  
  
"Yeah," she replied.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
So... I know its very boring, but I'm working on it! Anyways, R & R! (^_^) More reviews means quicker chappies. 


	19. Chapter TwentyFour

Many apologizes to the lords (are there many or any at all? I'm not so sure, but it's cool) and ladies of Fanfiction.Net. I'm really sorry for not updating sooner. "Things" got in the way... I've been doing that too much lately. Too many quotation marks. Well, like my Physics teacher said, "you can't have too much emphasis on the quotation marks..."Whatever that means... Anyways, read on! (^_^)  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"If ever we should be apart from the other, turn this ring on your finger over three times and say my name. I will know that you are thinking of me..."  
  
He gave me the ring, it was a little too big for my fingers, being that I was only about four or five years and he was older, how much older I did not know, but he was older than me. I smiled at him and took off the pendant from around my neck. On it was a crescent moon shaped sapphire that slightly resembled his own crescent shaped moon on his forehead... It had belonged to my mother and I... I gave it to him, slightly relieved that it was gone and not. He placed it around his neck as I put a piece of string through the ring and placed it around my own neck as well. Uncle was going to be angry with me that I no longer had my pendant because I "lost" it.   
  
"It's too big for my fingers! So I'll wait till I'm big to wear it!" I smiled at him.  
  
His face was soft and happy. I was so glad that I made him happy... but I would have to leave soon. Would he be unhappy when I'm gone?...  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Chapter Twenty-Four  
  
~~~Rune's POV~~~  
  
My hands were reluctantly flat up against the wall behind me. I stayed close to the wall as much as possible to hide myself in the dark night. The wind brushed against my face, sending my hair dancing untamed in my face and sending chills down my spine. I didn't want to touch the wall anymore. It was cold. Dead cold. I could feel everything around me was tainted with evil's devilish touch. This couldn't be the same place where Megumi snuck in posing as a maid and fell in love with her boyfriend, it was just... the atmosphere was too wrong.  
  
Tap! Tap! Tap!  
  
I dodged behind a large pillar near the railing and crouched down, hoping that they, whoever it was, didn't see me. Two armed demon guards passed by me, taking no notice of me by which, I was really grateful for their ignorance. With spears in their claws and mean, ugly looks on their faces, they reeked of don't-touch-me-or-you'll-get-it. As soon as they passed me and was far enough not to see me from the corner of their eyes, I circled around to the other side of the pillar as silently as I could.  
  
Suddenly, one of the two grunted and their footsteps stopped, which was then followed by sniffing.  
  
"What zit?" asked one.  
  
'Or not...'  
  
The voice was almost like hissing and crackly. It made me feel like jumping out of my skin. I held my breath, not even daring to exhale should they hear me.  
  
"...Nothing... Me smell human maybe... But only nothing, no human..." spoke the other.  
  
"I killz humanz today," replied the other, "Maybe itz ze humanz blood still on me..."  
  
The other one grunted and they continued on. I waited until their footsteps faded away and the only noise I could hear was the wind and rustling of the trees. I finally exhaled. That was a closed one! It was a good thing that I put demon repellent on me.  
  
After a few more minutes, I continued on. I didn't know where Ser was, but I went to every room that had a light on because that was the only indication that he gave me during one of our meetings...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Flashback...  
  
"I thought I told you to stay away from me," I told him.  
  
I had taken a "walk" to clear my mind from the hardships of that day and had "bumped" into Ser in the area where we last met.  
  
He chuckled a little with a small childish smile, "Yes, but it's funny, you know? I told myself that too, but... I can't stay away Rune. I need you to tell me of things because you're the only one-"  
  
I snapped at him, "Hey! I don't care what you think of me! Just... just let me be..."  
  
I started to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. I turned to him, ready to scream like a wild animal, but something stopped me. My eyes went wide and my heart stopped for a second, just that, just one second before I realized... before I realized that he wasn't Case.  
  
"We're not done yet, Rune!" he said to me with fire dancing around in his eyes.  
  
He tightened his hold on me. He was angry... but he seemed kind of scared too.  
  
'Just like Case when he was angry...'  
  
My eyes fell first as my head followed. I didn't want to see him, he reminded me too much of Case.  
  
"Let me go," I said, my eyes on the edge of tears and my voice on the edge of breaking.  
  
"No! I can't let you go Rune! You're important to me!" he told me.  
  
My head shot up to see him. That fire was gone, now there was only sadness and... longing? For what?  
  
"Important!? How!? You're my enemy and I... I don't even know you!" I shouted at him, angry at his outburst.  
  
He looked stunned for a moment and his grip loosened. I took the chance to tear out of his grasp.  
  
"Let me wallow in my own sadness. I have no need of you though, so don't go spouting out that I'm important to you so you can keep me," I told him, holding back on a hiccup and the waterworks.  
  
I turned around and started to walk. He made no move to follow me, but what he said stopped me.  
  
"At night..." he started and I stopped.  
  
"At night," he continued again, "it's dark. I can't sleep so I leave the candles burning until I fall asleep, but I can't sleep in peace... Nightmares plague me and I wake up in cold sweat in the middle of the night, unable and unwillingly to return to sleep... But if I think of you, I don't know... Just thinking about you makes me fall asleep easier... and the nightmares... they go away... You... you're the only one that can...can make me feel safe and... and..."  
  
I turned around to face him. His eyes were on me the whole time. I walked up to him and stood before him. We just stared at each other for a while. No thoughts passed my mind as my hand rose up and rested itself on his cheek. His eyes closed for a second and opened again. I could see that he was desperate, but not for a bad cause. He wanted me to stay.   
  
'He's lonely...'  
  
Finally, I found my voice.  
  
"I will stay with you..."  
  
'At least for a while anyway...'  
  
He nodded and we embraced each other. Tears fell from my eyes as we held each other, comforting each other in silence.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back to the Present...  
  
I was lost... While deep in my thoughts, I must have made a bad turn because I was no longer near the bedrooms.  
  
'Damn!'  
  
Suddenly, I heard voices behind me and I hid behind a wall. Several groups of about four to six demons were heading to where I was.  
  
Shit! Where was I going to hide now?  
  
I started to walk backwards, but realized that there was no more room to step back. I stopped before I fell off the edge. I looked over and saw a big house that sort of resembled a barn, but was very far down. It looked so rickety and in such a poor condition that even a bird would fall in.  
  
'Damn! Trapped! Well, I'll have to go down fighting then...'  
  
I took a small step back to be ready to draw my sword the moment they would arrive, but a small rock got in the way. I then found myself falling down, over the edge and thinking that it was the end for me. I closed my eyes as the wind passed by beneath me. I felt the collision with the roof and still, I went down... right into a pile of... well, something soft and fluffy, but my impact into the ground was better than I thought. I opened my eyes to nothing but darkness, not even a single visible thing but who cares!? I thanked all the gods that they helped cushion my fall and that I was still alive!  
  
"What was that!?" shouted a demon.  
  
"It came from this way!" another shouted.  
  
'Damn! I have to get away!'  
  
I tried to move, but was stuck.  
  
'DAMMIT!!!! I'M GONNA DIE HERE!!!!'  
  
Suddenly, something roared really loudly that told the demons outside to back off and run. As the roar faded away, something huge was coming towards me. The place was huge, but very dark yet I could tell that who or whatever was coming my way didn't intend on stopping. Its breathing was deep and long, but heavy. What was it?  
  
I hurried to get up and face the incoming creature. The moment I managed to get up, the thing was right before me and exhaled in my face. Its breath was hot and wet. My whole face scrunched up, my eyes closed and my hands were clenched at my sides.  
  
When it finished, I opened one eye and could see that whatever it was that was before me was even larger than I thought, but had no intention of killing me. I reached inside a pouch at my side and took out a nightlight that I bought from some merchants a while back. I broke it and it suddenly lit up all the places in the room that could be reached by its light.  
  
I held my breath at what stood before me.  
  
"Raph!" I exclaimed.  
  
It was Ser's dragon. He seemed quite happy to see me and nuzzled itself underneath my outstretched hand. Throughout all the times we met up, I got to be closer to Ser and Raph, who, for some odd reason, had taking an immediate liking to me.  
  
"Boy, am I glad to see you! I got lost... trying to find Ser's room," I told it, "Can you tell me where I can find him?"  
  
Raph closed its eyes and nodded.  
  
"Oh thank you Raph!" I smiled a little.  
  
It seemed to smile back at me.  
  
It turned around and saw several blankets and pillows that broke my fall.  
  
'Did I... fall on that?'  
  
"Raph? Why are there all these pillows and blankets here?" I asked it.  
  
Its head went up and down a bit.  
  
Ser? Is he talking about..? Oh...  
  
"Ser comes here to sleep sometimes... doesn't he?" I said.  
  
It nodded its head.  
  
"Ser..."  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Raph flew me to another part of the castle, which was farther away, but still in the castle (it was a really, REALLY big castle) grounds. None of the demons seemed to have suspected anything. Maybe it was because they feared Raph and knew not to bother it when its master called for it? Oh well, whatever the case, I got a free ride to Ser's room. As Raph descended, I realized that it was heading towards a huge balcony and the room it came from still had a faint glow. Raph then landed on the wide and spacious balcony. It was probably meant for Ser to get easy access to Raph when he needed Raph right away or something.  
  
I bid Raph a good night as it flew back to its barn. I took in several deep breaths and walked to the glass door that blocked off Ser from me. I pushed aside the door and after I entered, return it back to its closed position. The first thing I noticed about the room was that it had a sweet and spicy aroma in the air that made me feel a little drowsy. Then I saw how large and tidy his room was. Although it was spacious, it was kind of empty save for the bed, several chairs and a table. I observed his room a little more and when my eyes crossed the king-size bed with the closed see-through drapes, it stayed there.  
  
He was lying on his side with his back towards me. I smiled and went to the side of the bed in front of the clear drapes. I could see a little bit of his face. His eyes were closed and he... he looked like a small child, almost innocent. He reminded me so much of Case and I hoped to the gods that he was Case. Every time we saw each other, he made little remarks and gestures that were very similar to Case.  
  
'Case... I know it's you... Please don't hide from me... don't turn me away... I miss you so much... Please...'  
  
I pushed the drapes aside and sat down on the bed behind him. He looked so... perfect that I didn't want to wake him. A part of me said that he wasn't Case and that I should leave him be, but... the other part told me that it was he... That one was the loudest and put reason and everything else behind.  
  
"Ca-" I started to say but stopped.  
  
He started to move a little and turned to lie on his back, revealing his whole face and his bare chest to me. I examined his face and chest. It was flawless, perfect like a porcelain doll. My hand automatically went to his face and traced along his jaw line just as I had done to Case so long ago. Then it went lower to his chin, down to his neck and to his chest where it rested. My hands wandered around his chest for a while, feeling every groove and the smoothness of it like I... just as I had done to Case long ago...  
  
I traced around his manly chest and nipples (AN: No, it's not a hentai ok? Well, maybe a little, but she's just doing this because she loves Case so much and Ser reminds her a lot of Case. Yes, she did used to do this to Case when he was still around. Hey, what do you think they did in those two years besides farming? Well, it's yours to imagine or not if they did-ah, just let me get back to the story! ;p) I rested my head on his chest and placed my ear over his heart. I was like that for several minutes listening to his heartbeats, counting each and every one of them and his breathing. It calmed me to hear his heart and his breathing. It was like back then, I would always do this with him.  
  
Tears flowed from my eyes. It was somewhat different from Case, but I could tell that it was him. A woman must know things about her man. I got up and looked at his face. My hand then went back up to his lips. I traced across it with my thumb. For some reason, I bent down and my lips touched his lightly.  
  
He seemed to be at peace, so serene-like that I didn't want to ruin it for him. I decided to leave then, but as I pulled away, a tear fell and hit his face. I gasped as his eyes shot open and he somehow grabbed me and threw me underneath him in a flash. He seemed kind of angry, but was alert. He didn't know that it was me, but once he took a good look at me, his face calmed down and was left with surprise.  
  
"Rune? What are you doing here?" he asked me as his grasp loosened and held me up to a sitting position.  
  
I just couldn't stop the tears from flowing.   
  
"Rune?"  
  
I then threw my arms around him and buried my head in the crook of his neck. He was confused, I was sure of that and I was a little confused myself. What did I just do and get myself into?  
  
His arms closed around me and held me in a protective and comforting hug.  
  
"It's ok, it's ok..." he whispered repeatedly to me.  
  
The tears slowed down, but didn't stop. I held onto him tighter, but he didn't seem to mind. When I calmed down, he finally spoke.  
  
"Rune, why are you here? It's dangerous for you to even be here," he told me.  
  
I sniffled and leaned back to look at him, "Because... I love you... I've always loved you... right from the start."  
  
His arms that had wrapped around me slid away to hold my hands. He seemed a little confused and strangely enough, he didn't seem disappointed by that.  
  
"You... love me?" he hesitantly asked.  
  
A tear slid down my cheek as I nodded at him, but his face fell a little. He sounded sad.  
  
"No you don't. You're still in love with your former dead lover."  
  
"Yes, that's true, but-"  
  
"Then you really don't love me."  
  
"No! I do love you and always have! I love you because you ARE Case!"  
  
He seemed a little irritated, but confused nonetheless. He almost seemed to be saying to me, "Lady, I think you've had one too many drinks!"  
  
"Rune, I'm not your... I'm not him," his disappointed voice managed to say.  
  
I shook my head, "No, you ARE Case! Each time we met, I could feel him, feel you Case! Your gestures, your words... Your lips! I remember your warmth Case, you can't forget all those nights-"  
  
His hands went to my shoulders and he looked me in the eyes, "Rune. I know that you are still mourning for him, but don't... don't do this to me-to yourself. He's gone, you can't make me replace him!"  
  
He was hurting, I know he was, but... I knew that it was him. It just had to be!  
  
"Case-" I started, but he cut me off.  
  
"Rune, my name is Ser, human partner to the dragon Raph, loyal servant of my Lord Naraku, last and only surviving member of the Dragon Clan and someone who has fallen in love with his enemy, with you," he said.  
  
My eyes widened a little.  
  
"Yes Rune, I've fallen in love with you, but... I can't accept your love for me if... If you only see Case and... not me..."  
  
"But... You are Case! Here, I'll prove it to you!" said I.  
  
I opened the front of my shirt and he turned his head away from my...bareness. I reached frantically in my inner shirt and pulled out a chain around my neck. On it was two rings. It clinked together, making Ser return his gaze back to me, then to the rings. Ser seemed in awe of them, almost reminiscent.  
  
"This ring, the bigger one, you gave it to me! Remember? You told me to wear it and never take it off! That's how you found out that I was Crimson Moon!"  
  
Ser seemed almost, just almost as if he knew what I was talking about and I went on.  
  
"I was supposed to kill you, but you showed yourself to me that you, Shade, the Dragon Knight was in fact Case. My master found out and you-you led us to the clan of the Magiks, but my master killed them all. Then we went to your clan to gain the fusion technique. You mastered the technique right after you acquired it, but my former master killed off your people also. That's why you're the only remaining survivor left of the Dragon Clan!"  
  
He seemed lost in thought now with his hands on his head. He looked almost as if he was in pain. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth were clenched.  
  
"I... I can... I can almost feel it there... Rune! I can almost see it!... but, I can't remember it!" he said, struggling still to see the memories.  
  
"Case! Case! Yes, try to remember! Those last four years were kind to us. It was peaceful and life was good to us, remember? We were going to try to have a family with lots and lots of kids!" I tried, but began to break down.  
  
Tears came to my eyes in frustration and anticipation.  
  
"Rune, I can feel it, but I... I just can't remember anything!" he yelled in frustration.  
  
He seemed to be in pain.   
  
'Maybe that's why he can't remember. Whoever it was that made him forget wanted him to forget and if he tried to remember, it would cause him pain!'  
  
His head fell into my lap as a couple of tears fell down his cheeks. My hands went to stroke his hair. He began to calm down as I began to as well.  
  
"Case, it's ok... It's ok..." I said soothingly to him, "You know you have those memories at least..."  
  
He then sat up and pulled me into a deep embrace. He buried his face into my hair.  
  
"I know now Rune. I can't remember, but I can feel it. I can feel those memories and you. When I first saw you, I had strange feelings towards you, but I couldn't understand why. Now I understand. Rune, I love you, I love you so much!" he told me.  
  
I was...ecstatic! So what if he couldn't remember?! We could make new memories together!  
  
I fell deeper into his embrace, but he pushed me back a bit.  
  
"Wha-" I started to say, but he closed his lips over mine.  
  
All other thoughts disappeared as both of us fell down on his bed and held each other close as we both drifted off to sleep.  
  
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
  
"What's taking her so long?!" sighed Megumi for the umpteenth time.  
  
"I have no clue why and it's going to be dawn soon!" stated I, Captain Obvious.  
  
Megumi turned looked at me with a worried look, "You don't think she... got caught, do you?"  
  
I was worried too, "Let's hope not Megumi... but if she did... Be ready..."  
  
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
  
I awoke in his arms, in his warm embrace and I didn't want to leave it... but I had to do something... What was it?  
  
Just as I tried to get up, his arms kept me down and pulled me closer. I looked up at his handsome face from my own view of his breath-taking and extraordinary chiseled out chest. (AN: Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? (^_-)) I giggled as his now awake eyes twinkled with loving emotions and his mouth in a bad boy smirk. He seemed to have been thinking of... not-too safe, but dirty thoughts.  
  
"I thought you were still asleep!" I giggled.  
  
He smirked again, "I was, until you woke me up and made me want to do this..."  
  
He leaned in close and softly kissed my lips. I loved the feel of his lips on mine. I felt almost like a little girl again.   
  
'Wait till I tell the girls about this-'  
  
Then my thoughts suddenly focused in on the other two.  
  
'SHIT!!! It's almost dawn-hell! -it is dawn! I have to go!'  
  
I broke away from the kiss, explained my situation quickly to Ser- no, to Case, kissed him deeply one last time and ran off to the front. Riding on Raph's back gave me an opportunity to see the area, the surroundings and the way back to where I left the other two. I just hoped that they weren't going to barge in through the front.  
  
'Please wait a while longer you guys!! Please! Please! PLEASE!!!!'  
  
I ran with all my might and sneakiness to get there as quick as possible, but unfortunately, fate had other plans.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
I looked at Megumi. The sun had risen and no sign of Rune. Which meant... She had been taken away.  
  
"You ready?" I asked her.   
  
She nodded.   
  
She looked a little out of it lately. Something was holding her back, but she always pushed herself on.  
  
I sighed and pulled out my sword as Megumi pulled out her two blades, which she was famous for.  
  
'I didn't want this to happen and uncle, you will be pissed off at me, but I'm sorry... I'm not a good leader...'   
  
"You ready?" she asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.  
  
I nodded and sighed again.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
So we busted in through the front doors avoiding as many arrows and spells thrown at us. I slashed my sword at a demon's bare throat.  
  
"Out of my way! I have a friend to save!" I shouted with complete insanity and anger.  
  
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This is it for now so have fun and see you next chapter! (^_^)  
  
(AN: No lemon stuff for those of you who are horny. I don't know how to write lemons nor can I write any of that "he caressed her jewel" stuff. So don't expect anything like that. Sorries, but it ain't me.) 


	20. Chapter TwentyFive

Chapter 25!!!! YES!!!! Well, I'm gonna try to shorten the chapters by grouping up the smaller ones together so expect changes. Don't worry, the story'll be the same though.  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
  
  
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I was in love...   
  
I didn't care what anyone said or thought, or even what uncle would say. I was a girl who was in love!   
  
I finally felt accepted at last, truly accepted. Sure, I was only fourteen, but many people told me that I had aged far beyond my years. I acted, thought and even looked older than a fourteen year old. In a way, that was true. I was brought up a little differently than everyone else. A little different... An outcast actually... A little lonely... I guess my only close friend was Souta, my own cousin who was seven years younger than me. How would I tell him that I might be going away?   
  
I was jumping from tree to tree. Silent was my voice and nothing else. I had to get home and tell everyone that I would be going with... with him... The man whom I loved. Well, he was only a couple of years older than me, but still... we were both the same kind of people, loners, abandoned since birth by many despite several who made our lives a little more significant to at least live.  
  
It was then that I passed several people who were surrounded by many men. Were they robbers? I don't know, but I had to help them. I knew I would be breaking a rule of the clan, never help anyone unless they help you or if you're hired to do so. So what? I was in a good mood.  
  
I jumped in, killed many of the men and for some reason, they didn't fight like your average road muggers. They were quite strong in fact. Who the hell were they? They were pretty strong so the fighting got kind of rocky, but I slew all of them. When I wiped my sword clean of their blood, I realized that I did not have my mask on to cover my face.  
  
"Thank you..." said a voice behind me.  
  
I looked behind me and saw the innocent ones who had been attacked. It was a young man, probably in his late teens and in his arms was a young woman, maybe slightly older, but she was out cold. He noticed my eyes on her.  
  
"She's fine. They just knocked her out cold before you got here... and I'm glad that you... Thank you for saving our lives miss...?" he hesistated in saying.  
  
I could see the thankfulness in his eyes, but maybe he feared me a little? Maybe...  
  
I looked at him a little longer. He was expecting an answer...   
  
'Oh well, it's not like I'll be an assassin any longer anyways...'  
  
I smiled at him, taking him a little by surprised, "Kagome."  
  
He looked a little confused, "What?"  
  
"My name is Kagome," I smiled again and jumped off into the forest.  
  
So what if I gave my name away? It's not like he's ever going to see me again anyways. I'm going to marry my lover anyways! I promised him...  
  
Promises can be made... but they can also be broken...  
  
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Chapter Twenty-Five  
  
I don't know how long it was.. Several seconds?.. minutes?... hours? It felt like days, but we had only been there since dawn so probably a few hours was the length of our time there so far... but it really seemed more like many days had passed since we had been fighting.  
  
"GAH!!!!" screeched a now-fallen demon.  
  
I pulled my sword out from the corpse just in time to block several arrows from high on top. Quickly, I pulled out several darts hidden in my wristband and threw them as hard as possible to whomever it was that was shooting at Megumi and myself.  
  
Several screams and howls from atop the walls were drowned out by the sounds of more demons and metal.  
  
Clank!  
  
I looked over to Megumi. Both of her swords were blocking two enemy attacks, one from the front and the other from the side. She was stuck and I noticed another demon notch an arrow at her.  
  
'Megumi!'  
  
I slashed the next demon in my face just before I turned to help her. I took out my last dart reserves, leaving one dart left and threw them at the demon archer. The darts took the demon by surprised. It choked for a bit, no screams, and fell dead in less than ten seconds.  
  
"Meg-" I started to shout, but stopped.  
  
Something sharp and painful, extremely painful dug itself into my back. I could feel my blood flow out and down my back  
  
I screamed.  
  
I suddenly swung my sword around, taking the demon whom had just harmed me by surprise and his head was lopped off the next second before he could react.  
  
I forced myself not to cringe in pain as the wound in my back spread all over my body and ignored the blood that oozed down my back, staining my battle attire. Blood... was the drive for demons to fight like berserkers... I had made a foolish mistake. Hopefully, this would not bring me down...  
  
'Maybe I should have brought some paaj-ua-zoos...'  
  
I jumped to my feet, literally, and forced myself into the air, doing a backflip to get behind the demon who came up behind me. It turned its head as I brought the sword down, cutting the creature of darkness in half. It barely let out a screech by the time I landed... and fell to my knees. I had been kicked in the back of my knees the moment before my feet touched the ground. My sword fell out of my hands due to the pressure of the kick and hit the ground. My knees pounded into the ground and I screamed in pain as if they had just been through the grinder.  
  
'Shit! That's gonna leave a mark!!!!'  
  
Claws wrapped around my neck, the sharp points digging into my flesh, just above my vein. Blood... My own... I could feel the warm liquid flow down my neck as he rose me up into the air. My hands immediately went to my neck, trying to force the claws off for air.  
  
"You foolish idiot... Woman or not, you will die now!" the thing snickered.  
  
I should have been pleading for my life, or somehow wishing for a miracle to happen, but that wasn't the main focus of my thoughts there. I looked over to Megumi who was barely holding on. There were cuts and bruises on her face and gashes in her shoulders, arms and legs. Her blood kept flowing from all her wounds. If she did not get help soon, she would die of loss of blood... As would I... Her torso wasn't doing so good either...  
  
She was breathing heavily, ready to strike down the next victim of the crimson blades. I worried for her... She had to live!!!  
  
The claws dug deeper. The demon really seemed to be taking his sweet time...  
  
'Probably enjoys his victim's suffering... That'll his downfall... Sad, he won't be able to do it anymore...'  
  
I pulled my last dart from one of my wristbands and rammed it hard enough into his claw and not go through into my own throat.  
  
"AAAAAAAAGH!!!!" he screamed in pain.  
  
I could see its blood dripping down my clothes, mingling with my own. I started to twist the dart just a little and he finally dropped me to secure the well-being of his claw. Well, he didn't live long. I got down low and twirled, kicking him down as I grabbed my sword. Before he touched the ground, I stabbed the sword into his throat. Blood squirted out from his mouth and neck. He gargled a bit, gasping for air, but suddenly fell dead the moment he hit the ground.  
  
"Demons..." I scoffed, blowing loose strands of hair back.  
  
Suddenly, I felt something strong coming our way, VERY strong. It's power seemed immense and awesomely strong! It reeked of great darkness and was tainted with a fearsome evil.   
  
I turned back to Megumi who was now just barely holding on. She looked waaaaaaaay out of it. She was ready to collapse, but her training as an assassin paid off. She was alert and slew those who jumped at her.  
  
A demon suddenly lunged at me and I quickly swung my sword up. The demon fell in two pieces as I jumped over it to get to Megumi. For those demons in my way, I just suddenly started to swing my sword around, hoping it would ward the demons away from me for at least a second as I made my way to Megumi. She cut off a demon's hand and as it screamed, she beheaded it the moment I got to her.  
  
I stabbed the nearest demon to her and used it to throw at the oncoming demons behind me. I grabbed Megumi's hand and pulled her away just in the nick of time. A demon jumped down, hitting the ground where Megumi originally was a nanosecond later.  
  
Megumi panted, "Kagome! Do you feel-"  
  
"Yes!... Very strong!... Bad... Me... Kick... Rune's butt... When... home...!" I managed to say through pants.  
  
We ran, with a bunch of demons after us, throwing stuff at us and those who were in front of us barely got to do their war cry as both of us slashed them through. Wherever we were running to, there seemed to be more demons so...  
  
'We must be getting close to the center! The throne room!"  
  
We spotted some stairs leading up... very far up to the castle. At the top were two massive doors and split into two ways going left and right of the doors and became more stairs going up to the higher ground and levels.  
  
'This is good! We'll be able to spot Rune easier!'  
  
"Great! We need to go up there! The stairs Megumi!" I shouted to her.  
  
She nodded with a big inhale of air.  
  
We ran up the long stony blocked stairs, well, not really running. We jumped on top of dead demons that we had slain to get to the top.  
  
"Too...many!"  
  
Megumi was starting to lag behind.  
  
"Come on! We gotta keep-" I started and swung at a demon who fell over the side dead, "We gotta keep moving. We're outrunning them!.. Kinda!"  
  
We made it to the top. There were the two huge doors in front of us with three huge pillars and two more ways, one going left , the other went right.   
  
"Which way!?" I asked Megumi panicky.  
  
"I don't know! You're the one who was leading me!" she yelled even though she was out of breath.  
  
The screeches and screams of demons behind us were, well, VERY close behind us. Panic set in. Where to go!?  
  
"Okay! Eeny, meeny, miney- oh what the heck! The doors!" I said frantically.  
  
I ran ahead and she followed suit.  
  
"Kagome! I don't think-" she started to say.  
  
I pushed the huge doors open with a loud bang, making her pause for a second in her sentence. The moment we entered, I regretted making that decision.  
  
"-that's a good idea..." she finished as we slowed down from rushing into the room.  
  
'NOW you tell me!...'  
  
Litters of demons were in the room, throne room in fact. The room was very big and spacious. Everywhere, there were demons, on the floor, walls, corners... even the tall ceiling! To the far side away from us was the throne, two actually. On the throne were two people, male and female, most probably the brother and sister, the new leaders of the country.  
  
My first reaction?  
  
"Ssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!.."  
  
There was laughing, demonic chuckling and evil laughter.  
  
"Megumi! We gotta-" but I was cut off.  
  
"Crimson Blade and Crimson Dream! Fancy seeing you barge into out castle, much less coming into our land without permission!" spoke a clearly feminine voice.  
  
I swore again.  
  
The sister put on a bored face, much like Sesshoumaru, but more like she needed a new hobby and freakier.  
  
"My, my... What strong words Crimson Dream! Hmm... I've heard that you're a man, but some say you're a woman... Would you mind telling me what your gender is? I prefer males if I'm to have my fun..." she chuckled lazily with a smirk.  
  
Shivers ran down my back. Nasty...  
  
'Why the hell am I here again?... Oh right, Rune...'  
  
"Depends..." my disguised voice answered, "would you be surprised if I said I was a woman?"  
  
I heard the demons chuckling a little, most likely that the next meal was on the way. I tried not to look at them, but made sure to keep some distance and an eye on them in case they should attack us.  
  
Her lips turned into a grimace, "Are you?"  
  
I smirked, "Do you think I am? Hell, I may be a guy for all you know, or I might even be a woman!"  
  
She scowled at me with impatience and annoyance. Her face expression was that of irritation and anger. She stomped her way to standing and pointed a long, slender finger with a long dark red-painted fingernail at me.   
  
"You fool! Are you playing riddles with me?! You will die for that imbecile!" she screeched menacingly.  
  
She waved her hand at us and the demons pounced on us like a predator does to his prey.  
  
'Help...'  
  
"Stop!" came the voice of my rescuer.  
  
Suddenly, the demons withdrew back quickly at that. Not only did they draw back, they ran outside the windows and some hid deeply in the shadows as if to conceal themselves from the speaker.  
  
"Why have you stopped them!? I want th-that thing over there killed for puzzling me!" screeched the friggin banshee.  
  
Suddenly, we felt it. That great and awesome evil dark energy we felt before. What the hell was it!? We went to our swords again, this time, ready, even for death if need be. From behind the two siblings, I could feel the power, the cold and icy feeling that it radiated sent chills down my back. I shivered despite it not being too cold. Then suddenly, that dark fearsome power disappeared. As if it had just been wiped it out like a small stain on the floor that was no longer there. It had been there, but... it wasn't there anymore. Instead... I felt the presence of a person, human being? Don't know, but we were on our guard.  
  
'What the hell...?'  
  
From one of the shadows behind them, emerged a dark man. Well, dark wouldn't really describe all of him. He had long wavy coal black hair. His skin was as pale as an ill person, almost like snow, but his build was rather tall and strong if you got a good look at him even though he appeared sickly. His dark eyes crept around the room, first the brother and sister, then the walls to Megumi and finally those dark lazy orbs rested on me. His eyes were... I don't know. Cold, but... something very uncomforting...yet... slightly alluring... He grinned at me, more like a lustful and catty grin as if to say, "you're mine." Almost possessive they were and I tried to look away, but couldn't tear my eyes away. It was as if he had paralyzed me on the spot.   
  
"Naraku! You ruined my fun!" pouted the bitch. (Hey! She was annoying!)  
  
Naraku paid her no heed as he made his way-no, more like glided his way towards me, his face taking on an even darker look, almost sadistic and animalistic.  
  
"Kagome!" whispered a terrified Megumi.  
  
I couldn't move.  
  
'What the hell!?'  
  
My feet just refused to move.  
  
"Kagome!" she called me again, more frantically.  
  
"I-I can't!" replied I.  
  
"Crap!" said Megumi.  
  
I heard her swords clank as she rushed forward at Naraku. He deftly raised his right hand, palm out directing towards Megumi, but his gaze and dark look was still on me. When she got close enough, she swung her swords down, but suddenly, an invisible force flew her into the air, punched her around a couple times and threw her over to where the twins sat. She landed with a heavy thud, unconscious and still. I feared for the worst, but for some reason, my fear of the incoming man, Naraku, was overtaking everything else.  
  
"Kagome... My Kagome..." he smiled devilishly.  
  
I could feel the panic, the fear and the adrenaline pumping.  
  
'WAH!!!! GET ME AWAY!!!!'  
  
He stopped before me, our bodies barely touching, barely inches apart. He was about a head taller than me. I could barely raise my head because of my paralysis. His face leaned in close to mine, so close that I could feel his hot breath in my skin. Goosebumps rose on my skin and my hairs were probably standing stiff just as I was.  
  
"Kagome..." he murmured.  
  
He took my right hand in his left and kiss it. It felt oddly cold, almost like... like that one time... I felt that I had been kissed by ice...  
  
When he took his lips away from my hand, relief rushed over me, but was only temporary. He still held onto my hand, but his attention decided to run the other hand through my hair. He stroked it for a bit, almost reveling in the feel of it.   
  
'So what if I don't comb it well!? Stop touching it!'  
  
I suddenly realized that I was holding my breath. I let it out slowly and breathed in tiny gulps as his face moved in and caressed itself into the hair that he stroked.  
  
"Mmm... Kagome... You smell wonderful... Just the same as always..." he chuckled seductively.  
  
I tensed up even more and my breaths were quicker.  
  
'WHAT!?'  
  
His warm, cold lips pressed against my ear. I squeezed my ears shut as his lips opened and his teeth nibbled lightly on the rim of my ear.  
  
He chuckled his sweet, honey-like voice again. "Innocent as always... Kagome..."  
  
Then... I felt something hot and wet lick my ear... it was... the tongue...   
  
'GAH!!!!! HE'S MOLESTING MY EAR!!!! HELP!!!'  
  
My eyes shut itself tighter and I held my breath for who knows how long before a masculine voice broke in.  
  
"Ahem..." coughed he.  
  
Naraku stopped. I opened one eye and saw that he was sort of pissed off. He looked at the brother who sat on the throne.  
  
"Is something the matter... your lordship?" said Naraku in his dangerous yet sweet tone of voice.  
  
The king got off his throne and cleared his throat again.  
  
"Naraku," he began, "from what I recall, we agreed that there would be nothing taken until victory was ours?"  
  
Naraku gave him an unexpressive look, then a smirk appeared on his face, "Oh, I seemed to have forgotten about that... Thank you for reminding me..."  
  
He turned to me and smiled... and for some reason... it looked gentle for a second there... Was that the same guy who-uh-licked my ear?  
  
I was still stuck in place, yes, I was paralyzed, but at least he was moving away from me. Relief washed over me again and panic dwindled away slowly, little by little... but... my fear was still up high. Where the hell was Rune and was Megumi ok?  
  
"Is this her?" the brother pointed at Megumi with his foot.  
  
Naraku looked at her as he came up to her still body.  
  
"Yes, from what I've gathered, this should be the one who ruined your kingdom and slew your father," he answered.  
  
The brother looked down at Megumi, a look of anger flashing across his face.  
  
The king took in a deep breath, trying to relax the building anger. "So... she killed father..."  
  
The queen rose from her throne and strutted around Naraku. She finally went up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaning on him as she peered over at the unconscious female on the floor. Naraku frowned at her action, not the least bit attracted to her sluttish (AN: Is that even a word? It didn't underline that word with I did SpellCheck) skills.  
  
She started to giggle, a giggle that was devoid of feelings but of her selfish and snobby attitude.  
  
"She looks so fragile, too fragile to be Crimson Blade... Shall I cut her up and feed her to our pets, brother dearest? I'd be glad to," she smirked sadistically at the crimson warrior.  
  
Naraku shrugged her off and moved away.. Her hands fell to her rest on her hips. Her mouth was in a pout and her eyes like those of a puppy.  
  
"Aw! Naraku! I'm so hurt!" she whined.  
  
'I'm so annoyed...'  
  
Suddenly, I noticed that Megumi opened an eye.  
  
'She's okay!'  
  
Suddenly, she jumped at the queen with a small dagger that she hid, who jumped away at the last moment, but her carelessness gave her a large gash on her oh-so-beautiful hand.  
  
"OW!!!! THAT HURT!!!" she screeched.  
  
The brother pushed his sister back quickly and drew his own sword out in less than a second. He lunged at Megumi at such a quick speed that even Megumi did not expect it, but her dagger blocked the attack for a second... For a second at least... He pushed forward with such strength that her dagger fell from her grasp, but as he slashed forward, Megumi was quicker before the sword struck her chest and cart wheeled backwards to where I was.   
  
When she rose to stand up, she cringed a bit. There, on her shoulder, was a bad gash, given to her by the king. I then realized that the paralysis was gone and I grabbed her arm.  
  
"Megumi!"  
  
"I'm fine!" she told me in haste.  
  
Her face looked that of pain. I looked to the king. He stood still, with his sword down, dripping with Megumi's blood to his side. Then he took out a handkerchief, wiped off her blood and pointed it at us.  
  
"Crimson Blade, you may have outwitted our own half-brother to fighting against his own father, our father the king, but our father was a great and powerful king. We absolutely cannot let you go around dishonoring his name the way you've done these past two years," he announced.  
  
I could tell that he was going to come at Megumi, but she was in worse shape than I. My attention suddenly drifted for a moment to Naraku who was looking on at the fight in interest, but the fight wasn't the only thing that interested him. The moment I looked at him, he smirked at me with those dark and depthless eyes of his. Megumi swore, bring me back to her and the king. I quickly turned away to notice that the king had made his move towards Megumi.   
  
I gripped onto the sword and as he came close, I got in front of her and deflected the attack, taking him by surprise. His sword went flying out of his hands and I took this chance of an opening to ram myself into him. I put all of my strength into it and it sent him flying all the way past the throne into the wall behind.  
  
"Oh brother!!!" screamed the annoying sister.  
  
It happened so fast that I was still falling with nothing to stop me. My sword left my hand the second he hit the wall. I fell to the ground the moment after the sister screamed. That push that I gave the brother took everything out of me. It wasn't supposed to be like that... It wasn't... Why was I so weak all of a sudden? This had never happen to me before. I had never been so weak before I... before I came to this assignment...  
  
"I'm sorry..." I said to noone in particular.  
  
"Kagome!" screamed the injured Megumi.  
  
My eyes were getting heavy, so drowsy... Darkness fell upon me though I did not wish for it.  
  
The last thing I heard was the laughter of Naraku drowning out Megumi's screams.  
  
  
  
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Duh duh duh!!!! What'll happen next!!!??? Well, that will be it for now. You'll have to wait patiently for the next story. Sorries, but I got an ACT test coming up and Sadie Hawkins Dance so the earliest I can work on this is next week. Well, byes now! Thanks for reading! (^_^) 


	21. Chapter TwentySix

Hellos. Here is Chappie 26. Me will try to finish it soon before New Year! On my oath as an author, me will. Okies, go read now! (^_^)  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.  
  
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Chapter Twenty-Six  
  
~~ Megumi's POV ~~  
  
I screamed her name as she fell. She mumbled something that I couldn't hear and hit the ground. I ran to her limp body and tried shaking her back to consciousness as Naraku's laughs dwindled away. Her body went still, her breaths were faint, receding deeply into very long, slow breaths. I feared for the worst.  
  
Naraku's sweet voice chimed in darkly with a hint of what seemed to be slight anger, "My lord Daleus. It seems that you and I have much to discuss about how we take care of the spoils of war before victory is ours. We can't let the fragile ones be broken now can we?"  
  
The king choked back weakly on a cough and on his own blood.  
  
"That bitch!!!" I heard the queen scream and turned to us.  
  
Her eyes were like fire, burning with a desire to kill. I looked to her brother who was in a sitting position, grasping onto his chest and stomach. There was blood that trickled down his mouth. Apparently, Kagome knocked him out pretty bad and that took a lot out of her.  
  
"You'll pay Crimson slut!" screamed the annoying sister.  
  
"Look who's talking you ugly skank!" I screamed back at her without turning from Kagome.  
  
"Wh-WHAT!!!!???" she screeched and screamed loud enough that could make one go deaf.  
  
"Sis... No... don't..." he tried to stop her, but it fell on deaf ears.  
  
She infuriated me. I had no time to mess with the bitch. I grabbed one of my darts and threw it at her.  
  
Thomp!  
  
"Sister!" I heard the brother cry.  
  
I looked and saw that she was pinned to the wall not far from her brother.  
  
"Shut up!" I yelled.  
  
She opened her mouth to say something, but Naraku stopped her with a mute spell.  
  
"Very interesting. I must say that I am quite amused by what has happened so far Crimson Blade. It was very-uh entertaining," smirked the dark prince.  
  
Shivers ran down my spine as I scowled at him.  
  
He was coming my way. I knew what he wanted. I could tell the moment he laid eyes on Kagome... He wanted her.   
  
Ignoring my pain, I struggled up and grabbed for my two blades. Fortunately enough, I got one, but unfortunately, Naraku was too quick and slapped me away before I could get to the other one.  
  
"Even if you are a woman, I will show no mercy. Do not keep us apart," he said, looking at me with those impenetrable, lustful yet dooming red eyes.  
  
'Us? No! Kagome!'  
  
"Stay away from her!" I shouted and rushed at him.  
  
When I came closer, I swung my sword, but met up with another sword, my own in his hand.  
  
"You are well known for your use of two swords, but what would happen if one were to be used against you?" he said.  
  
My eyes widened a little, but my grip held on tight to the sword I had against my other one that was in Naraku's hands for the moment. That had never happened before. No one had ever gotten to my swords and ever used it against me.  
  
I tried to push forward, but Naraku didn't seem to be struggling one bit. He smirked at me and kicked my legs. It knocked my legs down and my grip loosened a bit, but that was all that he needed. He batted my other sword away with the one he held and struck the hilt of the sword down hard onto my head.  
  
The pain was... immeasurable. Sure, I had been through pain that was much worse that this... but each time hurt just the same that I really felt that I couldn't stand it anymore.   
  
I fell flat down. My skull felt like it had just been crushed.  
  
"Shi-ne," his low voice said.  
  
I heard my sword clank as he held it above me to drive it inside.   
  
'No...'  
  
"No!" a voice cried out.  
  
I heard Naraku suddenly jump away as several darts struck where he was last at, barely inches away from me. Someone came running at me and helped me up. The pain was still there and still hurt so much that I couldn't look up at my rescuer.  
  
"Megumi! Are you okay? Why is Kagome down!? Is she okay!? Can you look at me and answer? Megumi!" came the now familiar voice.  
  
"Rune... When we get home... I'm going to kill you...." I told her.  
  
"Megumi, nice to hear that you're able to talk. Now can you look at me?" she asked me.  
  
I tried shaking my head, but even I couldn't escape the pain to do one meaningless task.  
  
"No..." I answered her.  
  
"...I'm sorry Megumi... I'm sorry. I was too late and you two came looking for me..." she said, full of regret and apologies in her voice.  
  
My anger at her lessened a little... just a little...  
  
"Just... don't do it again... cause I'll have to wring your neck..." I told her.  
  
"Okay," I heard her sniff.  
  
"Awww... This is so sweet Crimson Lotus'," Naraku's sweet voice was then doused with poison, "... but unfortunately... this is the end...for you..."   
  
Ignoring whatever I got, I turned my head a little to look at Naraku. He held my sword up, pointing at us with that smug look on his face. Unfortunately, I couldn't see much once the blood from the back of my head, from Naraku's strike, dripped to my eyes that I had to close them because I couldn't make my hands go to wipe my eyes.  
  
"Megumi, stay back-er down. I'll be right back," she told me.  
  
"Wha-what? Rune!" I reached for her but she was gone.  
  
The next thing I heard was Naraku and her fighting. I could hear metal connecting with each strike, heavy breathing from Rune and her footsteps desperately trying to gain way through Naraku's attacks.  
  
"Enough! This game has gone on far enough, Crimson Moon. You bore me," said he.  
  
Suddenly, I heard her sword drop and I could no longer hear any footsteps from her, almost as if someone had picked her off the ground not by human hands because she wasn't choking for air. She was then screaming in agony and pain.   
  
"Rune! What's happening!!!???" I shouted, fearing for the worse.  
  
It seemed to have gone on forever. I heard the cracking of bones, almost as if he were twisting them, repositioning her bones back in place and breaking them again. Her screams were so painful to hear and what she was going through seemed unbearable and the torture seemed forever until she could scream no more. He then threw her limp body next to mine.  
  
He sighed, "That was fun, for a while until she stopped screaming. Now to kill the both of you off."  
  
"No!" another voice stopped Naraku.  
  
'What? Who's there?'  
  
"Ser?" came a struggling and barely audible squeak from Rune.  
  
"Rune!" shouted the man called Ser.  
  
"Ser! I want you to clean up this trash after you kill them!" commanded Naraku.  
  
"What!? My lord Naraku, I-No! I will not! I... I love this woman! I cannot kill her or her comrades! I-" but he was stopped.  
  
"You dare to question me? Infidel! After all that I've done! I found you abandoned and took you in! I gave you your powers and showed you how to use them! I gave you command over my own legions and this is how you repay me?!" shouted the flaming dark king.  
  
"My lord! You have gone too far! I must stop you because it was you who took me away from everything! Everything! I can't remember my past, but I know that Rune was a big part of it! If I must then I WILL get rid of you to regain all those lost memories!"  
  
I heard a sword be drawn, most probably Ser's.  
  
"Ser... No... Get back... He'll... he'll..." Rune mumbled.  
  
"No... I will protect you Rune, I will... With my life I will..." Ser replied boldly.  
  
Naraku chuckled darkly, "So, the ugly duckling has now become a swan... Your punishment will be taken with great indulgence, fool..."  
  
  
  
********************************************************************  
  
~~ Kagome's POV ~~  
  
I blacked out for a minute... or two or maybe even three, but whatever! I blacked out for a few minutes and forced myself to come back after realizing that I was doing no good on the floor. My eyes slowly opened to the scene of Ser, the dragon man, fighting with his own lord.  
  
'Whoa... What the hell happened?'  
  
Just I moved to get up, soreness running through my body, too numb and swollen to feel my joints, but I stood on my two feet the moment Naraku blasted his former-minion with a final blow.  
  
'What the-'  
  
Ser's body went flying in the direction of Rune, weak, almost lifeless. When his body hit the floor, his blood splattered everywhere around him and even hit me.   
  
Rune moved frantically to his body. She took his hand, tears ran down her eyes and they whispered several words of comfort to each other... then... he fell limp.   
  
"Case? Case, please get up. Don't play with me... no... no... I can't lose you again... No! CASE!" she cried.  
  
I couldn't bear to look, but I couldn't bear to not look in anger at Naraku who was smirking like an idiot with that smug look on his face. Though battered and wounded beyond words that I could not describe... It almost seemed like I... like a power inside... something was driving me on... something... an urge... to kill Naraku!  
  
Yes, it was against the law of my clan. Do not kill unless provoked. Killing is bad and our skills cannot be used for our own personal vendettas... but...  
  
'Argh! Screw that fucking law! I'm gonna kick his frickin ass!'  
  
He noticed me and that's when I struck. I didn't care if he was ready or not or if I was ready or not. I wanted him dead at that moment. I grabbed my sword.  
  
"Kagome..." he smirked.  
  
"Shi-ne! Naraku!!!!"  
  
I came after him with all my strength. My sword swiped at his head, but he easily dodged it and backhanded me. I fell to the floor. I was being clumsy.  
  
'Do not fill your heart with rage Kagome... For you will become so clumsy that you will not be able to distinguish right from wrong or friend from foe...' came the wise words of my uncle.   
  
So what? I didn't care for anything at that moment... just... just his death!  
  
I turned to Naraku who loomed over me with a teasing grin upon his unmarred face.  
  
"Tsk tsk Kagome. You're so clutzy today! My, my, that will not do if you are to be mine..."  
  
'What?! Say that again?'  
  
While in his mocking gesture, I took the chance to rush forward and slashed my sword with one hand at him. He ducked to the side, but I was ready. My other hand had been going to my dagger hidden in the side, which I rarely ever used except for silent assassination amongst many people. I grabbed it once I felt the hilt and slashed it at him. His focus had been mostly on my other hand, but noticed the dagger at the last minute.  
  
I felt the full impact of his anger as my body was flung to the far wall. Blood dripped from my head downwards. Man, I was losing too much blood today. If I lived to see tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to feel or move at all for a long while... If I lived that is...  
  
I fell to the ground, clenching my teeth from the pain. I looked up at Naraku and grinned.  
  
He was looking at me with such fury in his eyes. His red eyes blazing with some unseen force mixed with feelings of anger, lust and... betrayal?  
  
"KA.GO.ME!" he snarled, each syllable strongly emphasized.  
  
His kimono was in cleanly cut at his chest and I could see his chest, his large gash on his now bloody chest. I had cut him pretty deep. No one would be able to live from that. He would either die from infection or blood lost, much like me if I didn't get help soon, but he was lost.  
  
I smirked at him, looking like a fool asking for a death wish, but I didn't care. One way or the other, my goal was his death.  
  
Naraku ran towards me, an uncontrollable anger stampeding at me, but he stopped short halfway, grabbed his chest and fell dead, or at least I hoped so.  
  
"Lord Naraku!" came a voice I didn't know.  
  
It was a man in armor. Long blond hair and deep blue eyes... Shit...  
  
It seemed to be some sort of bad moment or something because Megumi chose that time to rise up and wiped the blood from her face, despite the physical pains inflicted upon her, now she would deal with emotional pains as well. She knew that voice and her eyes went wide in relief and surprise, but a sort of horror behind it all.  
  
"Gabriel..." she whispered with tears in her eyes, but they were not tears of joy.  
  
"Megumi!" he said stunned and shocked.  
  
"You... you were here all along... I tried to find you all this time and you were with the enemy all along..." she started to break down.  
  
"I told you not to follow me... When this was all over, I would return to you... but now... I can't do anything to protect you..." his voice was bitter to her.  
  
"Was your vow to the royal family more important...even more than me?"  
  
His head bowed a little, "Yes..."  
  
"I see..." she said, choking back sobs.  
  
"You're my enemy now Megumi... I love you, but my vow is more important than anything..."  
  
"Anything huh..."  
  
"Give it up!" came the voice of the now not muted sister.  
  
We all turned to them. Rune started to get up from her location and drew her sword.  
  
She went behind Gabriel and wrapped her arms around him, "Give it up. He's mine now so you can't have him ever again. Besides, he's quite a bunker to have in bed with me."  
  
We all looked on in horror and a disgusted surprise.   
  
"Chi-chigau! You lie! You-you can't..." choked Megumi who was shaking uncontrollably.  
  
The maniacal sister laughed, her arms wandering in places on him that I dare not look at, "Lie? I'm not lying. Gabriel dearest, tell her what we did the other night, how I wanted to take control, but you flipped me over and took control and how many times we did it and how many times you made me or-"  
  
"No!" screamed Megumi who was now broken beyond control.  
  
Suddenly, this bright and wild, untamed power erupted from her. It was so bright and so strong that it blew the whole room up. Everyone screamed from the enormous power. A great gust of wind swirled around her as the light engulfed the whole area, even beyond the castle grounds. I heard shrieks and screams of dying pain from Naraku's minions.  
  
"Incredible... This is the power of the Crimsons?..." came the voice of the young king, but was washed out by the light.  
  
Just then, I realized something.  
  
'We have to get out of here...'  
  
I rushed to Rune, convinced her to help me get Megumi away. She wanted to take Se-Case, but we had to leave him behind to get away quickly.  
  
"No! We can't!" she cried.  
  
"We have to! It's the only way to get home faster!"  
  
She seemed to understand, but didn't like it. I could tell that it was heart wrenching for her, but we had choice. She gave a glance backwards at her fallen beloved though the light made it hard to see, to her, it seemed as if she could see passed all that. I then pulled her and we grabbed Megumi and made like a banana and split.   
  
Just then, someone shouted something and I froze, almost paralyzed knowing whom the speaker was. I looked behind me and the fury I had before was no longer there as fear and panic seized me. My mind told my body to move and it responded to it so we ran like there was no tomorrow. The light remained, but started to dissipate as we made our escape.  
  
When we had gone out far enough close to the castle and the sky had started to darken again, we stopped to rest before continuing on.  
  
"Case... Forgive me... forgive me Case!" sobbed the broken-hearted Rune.   
  
Megumi seemed in no condition to talk or do anything at all.  
  
I was still recovering from the speaker who spoke....  
  
His voice still rung in my head and his face scared me most of all.  
  
"Kagome! I'll be back fro you! You will be mine!!" shouted the formerly "dead" Naraku.  
  
On his face was the most psychotic and lustful expression I had ever seen and his grin made a promise to me that he would come for me soon.   
  
I shivered involuntarily at that.  
  
"Souta... I know you've been protecting me all this time... but... I'm scared Souta... help me... help me Souta... " I muttered to myself and cried.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ah... I think I should make this rated R. It doesn't seem to be good for PG-13. Yes, there will be more... adult situations, especially for the sequel, but no scenes where people screw each other ok? I don't do that stuff. Anyways, thanks for reading. I will try to get this story done ASAP. Well, R & R. (^_^) 


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